The authors, members of the Blue Ribbon Panel for Evaluation of Depowered and Advanced Airbags, discuss briefly the results of their research using data from the William Lehman Injury Research Center at the University of Miami. The Ryder Trauma Center is a Level I trauma center that treats only the most severely injured occupants of vehicle crashes as well as other severe cases of trauma. Among the Ryder Trauma Center cases, 50% are Maximum Abbreviated Injury Score (MAIS) 3+ and 25% are fatal. The total database of frontal crash cases with no rollover consists of 147 drivers with first-generation airbags and 58 cases with second-generation airbags. There were 9 fatalities at speeds less than 20 mph with first-generation airbags. For second-generation airbags, there were no fatalities below 25 mph. The fatality rate for crashes above 40 mph also was considerably lower for second-generation airbags. Other conclusions from the trauma center data are also discussed, and the negative impact of the recently enacted Health Insurance Privacy and Portability Act (HIPPA) on crash injury research is briefly explained.
Samenvatting