AIRBAG EFFECTIVENESS-A CASE FOR THE COMPULSORY USE OF SEAT BELTS
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Abstract
A field study of serious and fatal injury car occupant accidents has been made. The sample was structured to be representative of those classes of collisions on a national scale in terms of urban and rural distributions and injury severities. The effects that (a) an airbag and (b) a lap/diagonal seat belt would have had on each of the injuries to each front seat occupant were assessed according to specified criteria. Results show that because of intrusion of the passenger compartment both restraint systems are restricted in their benefits. Because of the incidence of ejection, multiple impacts, rear, side and roll-over accidents, seat belts have greater benefits in the real world of accidents than airbags as currently envisaged. To obtain benefits from seat belts equal to those of airbags requires a belt wear rate of some 78%. /AUTHOR/