Hang on. The link to this article mentioned a "naval stud" but this is just about other forms of body piercing. I feel betrayed.

Nick, Leith, UK

Soft tissue - the stomach is all soft tissue - injuries from seat belts are well known. For that reason the lap strap of a seat belt is meant to go over your thighs, not your stomach, the diagonal strap should cross your breastbone, not your stomach, the two meeting at a buckle at the hip. The lap strap should be tight across the thighs. The injuries may have been made worse by the stud, but to cause that damage the seatbelt must have been incorrectly adjusted

clifford, wokingham, berks

Oh for crying out loud.. logically, she should also be "making us aware" of the dangers of being in a car.
Might I point out that the girl in question SHOULD have had the full consent of her legal guardian to get the piercing, due to her age?

People with piercings are discriminated against enough as it is already (including those who are already intelligent and aren't trying to 'shoick' their parents, M), yet how often do you see a toddler with pierced ears? Nobody bats an eyelid when a young child is forced into a painful, possibly unhygenic "invasive procedure" for purposes they are too young to understand...

C. Titford, West Midlands,

Publicize this as much as possible and spare us from bare bellies showing off piercings and sometimes a bit more parading along the high street. They can wear them in the disco if they want to risk it.

Christine in Hayes, Hayes, Middlesex, England

Studs also cause an unexpected health problem. By irritating sensory nerves in the skin they acitvate muscle reflexes which make us withdraw from the irritation. So a belly stud would cause activation of the abdominal muscles AND inhibition of the spinal muscles. Inhibited muscles are weak muscles that can't be strengthened with exercise. Sooner or later, this causes back pain. I have found that metal studs predispose my patients to back and neck injuries, an effect which is reversed when the studs are removed.

Simon King, Berkhamsted, Chiropractor

So, Ms Scott, are you implying that had the accident happened in England, Jessica Collins should have been denied free treatment on the NHS because of her navel piercing? Bit harsh that.

Holly, Lincoln,

Seatbelts should sit over the pelvis, not the navel. Keep in mind, hipbones are dense, stomachs arent

minki, cumberland, md

I think I would be more likely to stop driving a car (and be a lot safer for it) than I would be to remove my jewelry for a one in a trillion freak accident like this. Better yet...eliminate walking across a street, eating store-bought food, using imports from China....all of these normal day-to-day things pose a much bigger hazard than a piercing. But, even then, hardly worth sacrificing your quality of life for paranoia.

K, Los Angeles, USA

I am not in favor of piercings and there are definitely inherent dangers of infection but I have a sneking suspicion that items carried in the pockets especially pens have caused many more injuries in car accidents than piercings.

Mark, Freiburg, Germany,

By all means have all the metal piercings etc you want - just don't expect free treatment on the NHS if they cause you any injury.

Jane Scott, London, UK

I regularly carry a battle-axe. What are my chances in a car crash scenario?

chris, corfe Castle,

I'm trying to decide whether MBW is being sarcastic or not, but even so, all my 14 or so piercings and microdermal implants have been done with the full consent and support of my parents, who sport only 3 artificial holes between them. I have metal bits in my ears, nose, upper back, collarbones and navel, so I guess that if I'm an accident I'm pretty much going to resemble Swiss cheese.

However, I would say that for me to take out all my metal (for the some the removal of which would involve scalpels) just because I might be in a car accident is overly cautious, and overrides the main reasons I got them (which was purely aesthetic). As the supporting article in the paper said, accident victims have had pens, cosmetics and coins embedded in them, but people still carry pocket change.

Holly, Lincoln, England

Does the 'naval stud' headline on the main page refer to a very handsome seamen...?

Elliott, Cheltenham,

Glad that you got the spelling correct on this page!

Azanne Akainyah, Accra, Ghana

Piercers! Stop while you are still ahead! Such primitive practices obviously have inherent dangers, besides being often sickening in appearance!

Stop trying to shoick your parents. Become intelligent and shock them a much better way!

MBW

M, Alexandria, VA