SLIDE 1 Side Impact Inflatable Restraint Systems October 25, 2001 Real World Experience of Side Impact Air Bags in the Special Crash Investigations Augustus “Chip” Chidester National Highway Traffic Safety Administration SLIDE 2: Case Selection Criteria * high injury outcome with deployment of a side air bag * allegations of a fatal or seriously injured occupant attributed to the deployment of a side air bag * deployment of a side air bag into a position occupied by a child * deployment of a head occupant protection system into an occupied position SLIDE 3: VARIOUS TYPES OF SIDE AIR BAGS [exemplar photos] - IC - Door/ITS - Seat - Seat H/T - door SLIDE 4: 55 SIDE AIR BAG CASES (10/01/01) type of side air bag / plane of impact SEAT - left 14 - front 3 - right 7 - rollover - - no impact 2 - totals 26 SEAT/IC - left - - front 1 - right - - rollover - - no impact - - totals 1 SEAT H/T - left 3 - front - - right - - rollover - - no impact - - totals 3 DOOR - left 9 - front - - right 5 - rollover 4 - no impact - - totals 18 DOOR/ITS - left 4 - front 1 - right - - rollover 1 - no impact - - totals 6 DOOR/IC - left 1 - front - - right - - rollover - - no impact - - totals 1 TOTALS - left 31 - front 5 - right 12 - rollover 5 - no impact 2 - totals 55 SLIDE 5: 55 SIDE AIR BAG CASES (10/01/01) 11 - BMW 9 - Volvo 9 - Mercedes Benz 7 - General Motors 6 - Volkswagen 6 - Toyota/Lexus 2 - Nissan/Infinity 1 - Porsche 1 - Mazda 1 - Jaguar 1 - Lincoln 1 - Honda SLIDE 6: 31 LEFT SIDE IMPACTS 8 -Head and thorax side air bag deployments - 1-Fatal (severe intrusion) struck in driver’s door by school bus Lacerated Aorta and No Head Injury - 1-Serious Injury (severe intrusion) struck in driver’s door by a pick up truck Fractured Ribs, Collapsed Lung, Lacerated Spleen, Torn Diaphragm, Torn Bladder and No Head Injury - 3-Minor - 3-To be determined (new cases)? SLIDE 7: 31 Left Side Impacts 23 -Thorax only side air bag deployments - 5 -Fatal (severe intrusion) - 1 -AIS –3 (To be discussed later) 3 fractured ribs with pnuemothorax related to the side air bag deployment - 1 -AIS -2 (Struck by P/U, crushing Injury) Concussion; Fractured left clavicle; Contusions to left side of body, related to left side door panel. - 12 -AIS -1 - 4 –No injury, a complaint of pain or unknown if injured SLIDE 8: 12 Right Side Impacts 12 - Thorax only side air bag deployments - 3 -Fatal (severe intrusion) - 3 -AIS -2 (not side air bag related) Fractured R Wrist, Rib R Contusion, Elbow R Dislocation Fractured Clavicle Fractured Lumbar Vertebrae? - 2 -AIS -1 - 1 –No injury, a complaint of pain or unknown if injured = 3 -Not Occupied SLIDE 9: NO-SIDE-AIR-BAG-DEPLOYMENT-RELATED-FATALITIES 8 -Driver Fatalities - 5 Left side impacts witha thorax deployment - severe intrusion - 1 Left side impacts with a Head and Thorax deployment - severe intrusion - 2 Rollover (driver ejection)with a deployment 5 -Passenger Fatalities - 3 Right side impacts with a deployment - severe intrusion - 1 Rollover - 1 Frontal SLIDE 10: 2 CHILDREN IN SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYMENTS [post-crash interior/exterior photos] * Right front side air bag deployment, 3 year old male, unbelted, minor injury (AIS-1), injury source was the side airbag cover flap *Left side, back seat deployment, 13 year old male, unbelted minor injury (AIS-1), injury source side airbag cover flap. SLIDE 11: 1-SERIOUS INJURY RELATED TO A SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT Vehicle Damage - 09LPEW3 - 11.4" (29cm) of maximum crush - 9 mph (14.5kmph) barrier equivalent delta V Driver Demographics - 76 y.o male - 6'2" 180 lbs - 3 point manual restraint in use SLIDE 12: 1-SERIOUS INJURY RELATED TO A SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT Driver Injuries - closed fracture 6,7,8th left lateral ribs (3) with left anterior pheumothorax - abrasion left lateral chest [photo & corresponding skeletal diagram, indicating location of closed fracture, exemplar vehicle & occupant] SLIDE 13: 1-SERIOUS INJURY RELATED TO A SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT Side Air Bag as the Driver Injury Source ?Closed fracture 6, 7 & 8th left lateral ribs (3) with left anterior pnuemothorax ?Resulted from a narrow focused impact ?Located proximal to the side air bag ?Abrasion left lateral chest ?Crushing injuries related to intrusion are typically contusions ?Swiping injuries are abrasions SLIDE 14: SIDE AIR BAG ISSUES _ 26 CASES The fore and aft seat location is not affected. ?Inadvertent deployments.?Objects against the seat mounted firing trigger.\ ?The air bag has produced minor (AIS-1) injuries ?The occupant may “miss the air bag” in crashes with a PDOF of one o’clock. ?No head protection SLIDE 15: SIDE AIR BAG ISSUES - 18 CASES ?The fore and aft seat location is affected. ?Inadvertent deployments. ?GM Recall on Cadillac ?The cover flap has produced with serious (AIS-3) injuries ?Vehicle no longer in production with this air bag configuration ?The occupant may “miss the air bag” in crashes with a PDOF of one o’clock. ?No head protection SLIDE 16: HEAD PROTECTION SIDE AIR BAG ISSUES - 11 CASES * The fore and aft seat location is not affected. *in the cases with head protection, including at least one fatality due to a thorax injury, the occupant received no life threatening head injuries *The head protection side air bag has not been attributed to any injuries SLIDE 17: CONCLUSIONS ?No fatalities have been attributed to the deployment of a side air bag ?One seriously injured occupant (AIS-3) has been attributed to the deployment of a door mounted side air bag ?In the 2 cases involving children, the side air bags afforded occupant protection. ?The head protection side air bag has been successful in reducing head injury. ?Passenger compartment intrusion is the primary contributor to the fatal injury mechanism. SLIDE 18: PUBLIC ACCESS TO DATA [screen shot of NCSA/SCI web page] www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/ncsa/sci.html