From a review of 722 "airbag" crashes investigated by University of Michigan, Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) personnel, there were 117 front seat passengers exposed to passenger side airbag deployments. The majority of these were 16 years of age or older (90 of the 117), with 20 passengers, 11 years of age or younger. Two cases, both fatalities, are not described, for these crashes have been investigated also by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA's) Special Crash Investigation Programme personnel. The crashes and injuries of these 18 passengers are described. In this group there were 13 children who had Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS) 1 level injuries and two sustained an MAIS 2 injury. One child was without injury, and two had MAIS 5 level injuries. The description of the crash and of the major injuries sustained are detailed in each of the case capsule descriptions. Most of the children were properly restrained. (A)
Samenvatting