An Evaluation of airbag benefits/disbenefits in European vehicles - a combined statistical and case study

Any restraint system carries a certain risk of injury from the system itself. It is therefore vital to know the balance of that risk compared to the overall benefits of the system. The objectives of this study were to address those questions by a thorough case review of in-depth real world cases to find problems associated with airbag deployment followed by examining the nature, frequency and mechanisms of AIS ≥ 2 head/face and chest injuries in European vehicles, with and without airbags. Belted and unbelted drivers were examined separately. The analysis considered only frontal impacts.Any restraint system carries a certain risk of injury from the system itself. It is therefore vital to know the balance of that risk compared to the overall benefits of the system. The objectives of this study were to address those questions by a thorough case review of in-depth real world cases to find problems associated with airbag deployment followed by examining the nature, frequency and mechanisms of AIS ≥ 2 head/face and chest injuries in European vehicles, with and without airbags. Belted and unbelted drivers were examined separately. The analysis considered only frontal impacts.