The aim of this study was to investigate the injury reduction benefits of driver airbags in Holden Commodores. A case-control study of VR and VS Holden Commodore crashes involving both driver airbag deployed and equivalent non-airbag crashed cars was conducted. Data were collected on the extent of damage, injuries sustained by the driver, and contact sources for these injuries. Similar data were also collected for earlier VN and VP model Commodores which did not have airbags using equivalent procedures and formats. As there were no noticeable differences between the non-airbag crashed vehicles (models VN to VS), they were subsequently grouped to form the control sample. Only those cases with a delta-V equal to or below 60km/h (the expected benefit range of airbags) were included in the analysis. The results showed significant reductions in chest and moderate to severe head injuries for airbag fitted cars and encouraging trends of other benefits for these occupants. Contrary to recent overseas findings there were no airbag induced injuries above AIS 1 severity. (Author/publisher) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E207978.
Abstract