Probability of Honda Frontal Airbag Deployment from Analysis of NHTSA CISS EDR Database

As of 2000, the Bosch CDR tool has been available to download vehicle’s Event Data Recorders (EDR). The EDR is connected to a vehicle’s airbag control module and records collision events if an airbag is deployed and can also record non-deployment events. Previous research has collected EDR reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) databases and evaluated the data to determine the probability that an airbag will deploy in a frontal collision for various vehicle manufacturers such as General Motors, Ford, and Toyota. The previous research does not include Honda vehicles. This paper analyzes 343 EDR reports from Honda vehicles between 2012 and 2022 obtained from NHTSA’s Crash Investigation Sampling System (CISS) database and 30 Forensic Engineering’s own database in an effort to develop a model to predict the probability of a frontal airbag deployment in Honda vehicles. The model predicts the probability of an airbag deployment based on the maximum collision severity (longitudinal delta-v) recorded during that event. A binary logistic regression was conducted, and we found that there is a 50% probability of frontal airbag deployment for a collision severity between -11 and -12 km/h, and a 90% probability of frontal airbag deployment for a collision severity between -22 and – 23 km/h. Other data was examined including airbag deployment times and the time between first and second stage air bag deployment. Manufacturers no longer publish deployment data in owner’s manuals; this data analysis aims to help fill that void and assist with accident reconstruction.