Originally Posted By: Eugene
I remember reading somewhere that modern seatbelts are a tradeoff in design.

Everything in engineering is a tradeoff in design.
Seatbelts work very very well, the chance of an injury due to a seatbelt jamming closed is tiny compared to the number of saves from wearing one.

If you are concerned you should also wear a cycle helmet when driving. More people suffer serious head injuries in car accidents than in cycling accidents.