A brief summary of the preliminary findings of the Blue Ribbon Panel for Evaluation of Depowered and Advanced Airbags is given. Most of the statistical analyses that have been conducted to date indicate there has been a small but measurable increase in effectiveness. Also, there is now a body of evidence that depowered and advanced airbag systems have dramatically reduced the harm to out-of-position children and adults in low-speed crashes, which was an area of grave concern. Head, chest, and abdominal injuries all seem to be down. There is some evidence, though very preliminary, that some body regions may be seeing an increase in injury. The data show that while airbags appear to work very effectively when collision forces are straight ahead, occupants can get around or over airbags in many off-center collisions. The BRP reviews data both from a statistical standpoint and anecdotally on an individual case basis, believing that both types of analysis are critical to understanding how to improve the performance of airbag systems. The BRP expects that event data recorders will be important tools in helping crash investigators to understand the nuances of advanced airbag system performance.
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