irbag safety stud

AUTOMOTION

JUST ABOUT everyone —
insurance companies, police
departments, traffic-safety
groups, consumer advocates,
and accident victims — |
agree that airbags save lives
and reduce or eliminate seri-
ous injuries in frontal or
front-angle collisions.
However, as the number of auto-
mobiles with airbags increases,
there is growing statistical evidence

that inflating airbags can actually
cause injuries.

A 1993 study of 1,200 crashes
of vehicles equipped with airbags
by the U.S. National Highway and
Traffic Safety Association
(NHTSA) revealed that more than
20% af the occupants (273 cases)
suffered injuries caused solely by
airbags.

Of the injuries, 96% were
described as minor, and 1% moder-
ale. :
The NHTSA uses an
Abbreviated [ajury Scate (ALS) that
classifies injuries by body region
ona scale from | to 6.

A code of AIS I reflects minor
injuries while a code of AIS 6 rep-
resents injuries that are inevitably
fatal. None of the injuries caused
solely by airbags were classified
AIS 3 or higher — that is, none
posed a serious threal to life.

The most common airbag-reh-
ted injuries (52%) were abrasions
to the neck, upper bady and head:
26% were bruises, 1196 were cuts,
and 9% burns. .

A study by researchers at the
University of Michigan concluded
that the likelihood of receiving
abrasions relates to the speed at
which the surface of inflating bays
“slap” the occupant.

Airbags deploy at very high

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Driver's side airbags reach 10 to
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The NHTSA found that the most
serious injuries were received by
people who were cither sitting too

Sev Seatbelt page 38

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