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Occupant Protection Concerns? Seatbelts Are Not Eno While vitally important, seat- belts are only the starting point of a comprehensive approach to ambulance occupant safety, not the end result. To suggest they are adequate protection creates a very false sense of security. Crash tests, in fact, show a fully re- strained occupant, even with a five-point seat belt, is in danger from headstrikes to the cabinets and cushions. The headstrike data recorded in instrumented testing programs is alarming— far above the recognized indexes for fatal incidents. The cushioned head padding typically depended upoton to absorb those hits today in most ambulances has proven to be woefully inadequate in helping reduce the severity of these blows. The fatal headstrikes take place right through the “protec- tive” cushion. What the industry traditionally relies upon for head protection is of little or no value. The automotive industry learned years ago that significant occupant protection requires a combination of seat belts, special cushioning and inflatable restraints. Horton’s safety testing has confirmed these results. In the most extensive crash test- ing program in the history of the ambulance industry, Horton de- signed and demonstrated the ef- ficacy of its Horton Occupant Protection System (HOPS) in the patient area of an ambulance. HOPS was able to reduce fatal head- strikes in side impact rollover collisions by more than 90 per- cent. Real testing. Real results. Hybrid III test dummies provide real data thro conjunction with high speed cameras and low accurate and can be duplicated and validated. Horton Occupant Protection System for rollover collisions For More Information Circle 21 on Reader Service Card