The use of current seat belts has been shown to be effective in reducing deaths and serious injuries to restrained car occupants by 50% compared to unrestrained. Real world accident studies have identified limitations to the performance of seat belts. This has led to the next major evolution in restraint design which is the development of the intelligent restraints. The options for intelligent restraints include making the system variable, to take account of occupant age and sex, occupant weight, occupant sitting position (relative to forward structures) and the severity of the collision which is occurring thus changing the characteristics of the seat belt. Data are presented on how a population of drivers and passengers actually sit in cars, and accident analyses will illustrate how injury outcome varies with age and sex for restrained occupants. The implications of the position of the hands on the steering wheel during normal driving and the rotational orientation of the steering wheel during an impact for airbag design are also included. (A)
Abstract