Assessment of forearm injury due to a deploying driver-side air bag.

This study has examined forearm injury patterns produced by static deployment of a driver's side air bag. Attention was focused on the loadings that occur during the punchout phase of deployment because it has already been determined that the highest loadings occur during punchout. Loading patterns and the correlation of loadings and injuries were examined with the expectation that fractures would occur during punchout and that bending would be the mechanism of failure. (A)