This content is not included in
your SAE MOBILUS subscription, or you are not logged in.
Side-Impact Air Bags in Side Crashes: Not Deploying as Designed? A Review of Real World Crash Data
Technical Paper
2010-01-1045
ISSN: 0148-7191, e-ISSN: 2688-3627
Annotation ability available
Sector:
Language:
English
Abstract
Background: Frontal crashes are the most common motor vehicle crashes (MVC), however, near sided crashes produce more severe injuries. Side impact airbags (SIAB) were designed to mitigate and prevent severe injuries and are associated with up to 45% mortality reduction as reported (IIHS 2003).
Objective: Limited data on deployment rates of SIAB in severe real world lateral crashes has been reported. The objective of this study is to determine deployment rates of SIAB in severe injury side impact collisions utilizing the Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) database.
Methods: The US Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration CIREN database was queried for side impact MVCs during 1997 - 2009. There were 3,766 passenger vehicle crashes of which 515 vehicles had SIAB installed. Additionally, crash metrics, direction of force, delta V and SIAB sensor location were examined.
Results: Of the 207 cases involved in severe injury side impact crashes, there was a 63% deployment rate of SIABs in near and far side impact crashes. In sub analysis of SIAB deployment and occupant location there were 140 near sided crashes. In near sided severe injury crashes the SIAB deployment rate was 80%. In this study eight cases had no SIAB deployment with delta V above the assumed deployment threshold. Two of the eight cases were eliminated for having impacts outside of the region where the sensors are located leaving six cases, or 5% of cases with lateral delta V above 16 kph and no SIAB deployment for the near side occupant with severe injuries.
Summary: Real world CIREN data shows that 5% of SIAB did not deploy in severe injury side impact collisions with a lateral delta V above 16 km/h despite currently held perceptions from reports in the news media [
1
,
2
] that non deployment is more frequent in real world crashes. While the CIREN data used for this study uses real world crashes - the inclusion criteria for CIREN cases requires specific level of injuries to the case occupant in order to be included, thus the CIREN cases represent a subset of ALL real world crashes that have significantly injured case occupants. Further research on SIAB deployments and sensor location on a larger scale is needed in real world lateral impact crashes.
Recommended Content
Authors
- Tayseer A. Aldaghlas - Inova Fairfax Hospital, Inova Regional Trauma Center
- Christine Burke - Inova Fairfax Hospital, Inova Regional Trauma Center
- Jeffrey Jenkins - Inova Fairfax Hospital, Inova Regional Trauma Center
- Louis J. Brown - Inova Fairfax Hospital, Inova Regional Trauma Center
- Anne Rizzo - Inova Fairfax Hospital, Inova Regional Trauma Center
Citation
Aldaghlas, T., Burke, C., Jenkins, J., Brown, L. et al., "Side-Impact Air Bags in Side Crashes: Not Deploying as Designed? A Review of Real World Crash Data," SAE Technical Paper 2010-01-1045, 2010, https://doi.org/10.4271/2010-01-1045.Also In
References
- Frillici, Leigh 2008 February 18 Family: Side airbags in son's car failed. KHOU News on the Web October 26 2009 http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou080218_jj_airbags.63c1b4c.html#
- Casey, Mike Montgomery, Rick 2007 October 22 Front airbags don't inflate in hundreds of head-on crashes The Kansas City Star on the Web October 26 2009 http://www.kansascity.com/740/story/326073.html
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration “Effectiveness of Occupant Protection Systems and Their Use, Third Report to Congress,” Washington, DC December 1996
- Kahane, C. J. “An Evaluation of Side Impact Protection, FMVSS 214 TTI(d). Improvements and Side Airbags,” National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Washington, DC January 2007
- Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration “Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Side Impact Protection; Side Impact Phase-In Reporting,” Federal Register 72 175 September 11 2007
- Holmatro, Inc. “Holmatro's Rescuer's Guide to Vehicle Safety Systems V1.2,” http://www.holmatro-usa.com/training/default.htm Glen Burnie, Maryland
- Breed, D.S. Sanders, W.T. Castelli, V. “Sensing Side Impacts,” SAE Technical Paper 940561 1994
- McGwin, G. Metzger, J. Rue L. W. “The Influence of Side Airbags on the Risk of Head and Thoracic Injury after Motor Vehicle Collisions,” Journal of Trauma 56 3 512 517 2004
- Insurance Institute for Highway Safety “In Real-World Crashes, Side Airbags with Head Protection are Saving Lives,” IIHS News Release www.highwaysafety.org August 26 2003