<rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="https://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
  <channel>
    <title>Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)</title>
    <link>https://trid.trb.org/</link>
    <atom:link href="https://trid.trb.org/Record/RSS?s=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" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
    <description></description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
    <image>
      <title>Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)</title>
      <url>https://trid.trb.org/Images/PageHeader-wTitle.jpg</url>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/</link>
    </image>
    <item>
      <title>Front Air Bag Nondeployments in Frontal Crashes Fatal to Drivers or Right-Front Passengers</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/917805</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Public concern has arisen about the reliability of front air bags because Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data indicate many nondeployed air bags in fatal frontal crashes. However, the accuracy of air bag deployment, the variable in question, is uncertain. This study aimed to provide more certain estimates of nondeployment incidence in fatal frontal crashes. Fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers and right-front passengers in frontal crashes were identified in two U.S. databases for calendar years 1998ï¿½2006 and model years 1994-2006: FARS, a census of police-reported fatal crashes on public roads, and National Automotive Sampling System/Crashworthiness Data System (NASS/CDS), a probability sample of tow-away crashes. NASS/CDS contains subsets of fatal crashes in FARS and collects detailed data using crash investigators. Front air bag deployment coding for front-seat occupant fatalities was compared in FARS and NASS/CDS, and case reviews were conducted. Among FARS frontal deaths with available deployment status (N = 43,169), front air bags were coded as not deployed for 18 percent of front occupants. In comparison, NASS/CDS (N = 628) reported 9 percent (weighted estimate) nondeployment among front occupants killed. Among crashes common to both databases, NASS/CDS reported deployments for 45 percent of front occupant deaths for which FARS had coded nondeployments. Detailed case reviews of NASS/CDS crashes indicated highly accurate coding for deployment status. Based on this case review, 8 percent (weighted estimate) of front occupant deaths in frontal crashes appeared to involve air bag nondeployments; 1-2 percent of front occupant deaths represented potential system failures where deployments would have been expected. Air bag deployments appeared unwarranted in most nondeployments based on crash characteristics. FARS data overstate the magnitude of the problem of air bag deployment failures; steps should be taken to improve coding. There are inherent uncertainties in judgments about whether or not air bags would be expected to deploy in some crashes. Continued monitoring of air bag performance is warranted.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2010 07:44:12 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/917805</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>An Overview of Frontal Airbag Performance with Changes in Frontal Crash-Test Requirements: Findings of the Blue Ribbon Panel for the Evaluation of Advanced Technology Airbags</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/860663</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In the mid 1990s evidence emerged that airbag deployments could result in deaths to vulnerable vehicle occupants who were very close to airbag modules when they deployed. In 1997, federal frontal crash test requirements were modified to allow crash testing with unbelted dummies to be performed using sled tests. As a result, vehicle manufacturers were able to redesign airbags to deploy with less force and energy, thereby reducing the toll of airbag-induced deaths. However, there was concern that depowered airbags may not provide the same level of protection to unbelted occupants in severe frontal crashes, particularly occupants of large stature and body mass. This paper provides a summary of recent studies addressing this issue. To expedite the accrual of data regarding airbag performance, the collection of additional crash data was funded by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. A panel of experts was commissioned to oversee the process and evaluate the data. During the past 6 years, a series of studies has been undertaken by panel members and others to evaluate the performance of redesigned airbags and the data are summarized here. There is now convincing evidence that the combination of airbag redesign and public education have resulted in dramatic reductions in airbag-induced infant and child deaths. In addition, the frontal crash fatality risks among children sitting in front seats have been reduced by as much as half, with younger children showing the greatest benefits. Among adult drivers and right-front passengers, there is no evidence for the predicted overall loss of protection with sled-certified airbags and there are far fewer airbag-induced deaths among this population. However, despite exhaustive analyses of frontal-crash data, the possibility of a somewhat elevated fatality risk among a subset of unbelted drivers in sled-certified 1998-99 model vehicles cannot be ruled out. There also is some evidence that the risks of serious chest injury may be higher among unbelted drivers in frontal crashes in sled-certified vehicles with redesigned airbags. Further research is warranted to determine whether these differences remain in newer model vehicles designed to the advanced airbag rule which took effect in 2003.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 24 Jun 2008 07:48:15 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/860663</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>The Development, Validation and Application of a Finite Element Upper Extremity Model Subjected to Air Bag Loading</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/807097</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The goal of this study is to develop an efficient numerical model that displays initiation of fracture and localized tissue deformation under various impact conditions as well as correct global kinematics.  Both side and front air bags can injure upper extremities when the extremity is close to the air bag module at the instance of impact.  An effective research tool is important in the investigation of mechanisms of injury involved in air bag loading; and also to evaluate the improvements of ongoing air bag designs.  The development of the model includes the adaptation of material properties from literature into constitutive models, the definition of kinematic constraints at articular joint locations, and the creation of a sufficiently accurate finite element mesh.  The model was coupled with a computationally efficient human model, in order to make it applicable for full-scale simulations.  The model was validated against cadaver experiments.  Results of the study indicate that the risk of fracture to the forearm increases greatly with air bag aggressiveness and the closer one gets to the deploying front air bag.  However, increasing the forearm supination angle protects the forearm from fracture.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 25 May 2007 10:36:55 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/807097</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Airbags - Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/805535</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This paper presents a history of airbags, discusses airbags used today, and provides a look into the future of airbags.  It describes key events of the 1970s (the U.S. regulatory war over airbags, occupant protection outside the United states, the advent of automatic seat belts); discusses what happened in the 1980s (the need for both seat belts and airbags, the continuation of the air bag war, U.S. seat belt use laws, how the marketplace took over) and presents concerns during the 1990s (airbag-induced deaths, and the convergence of the safety world).  The paper also describes the emergence of side airbags in the 1990s and 2000s and gives us a glimpse into the airbags of tomorrow (more reliable crash sensors, and possibly the use of external airbags).]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 02 Apr 2007 07:03:19 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/805535</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>COMPARING DRIVER FRONTAL MORTALITY IN VEHICLES WITH REDESIGNED AND OLDER-DESIGN FRONT AIRBAGS</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/748455</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In 1997, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration amended its requirements for frontal crash performance under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 to temporarily allow 30 mph (48 kph) sled tests with unbelted dummies as an alternative to 30 mph head-on rigid-barrier vehicle tests.  This change permitted automakers to reduce airbag inflation forces so that they would be less likely to injure occupants who are close to airbags when they first deploy.  Most vehicle models were sled-certified starting in model year 1998.  Airbag-related deaths have decreased since 1997; however, controversy persists about whether reduced inflation forces might be decreasing protection for some occupants in high-severity frontal crashes. To examine the effects of the regulatory changes, this study computed rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for passenger vehicle driver deaths per vehicle registration during 2000-2002 at principal impact points of 12 o'clock for 1998-99 model vehicles relative to 1997 models.  Passenger vehicles included in the study had both driver and passenger front airbags, had the same essential designs during the 1997-1999 model years, and had been sled-certified for drivers throughout model years 1998 and 1999.  An adjustment was made for the higher annual mileage of new vehicles.  Findings were that the effect of the regulatory change varied by vehicle type.  For cars, sport utility vehicles, and minivans combined, there was an 11% decrease in fatality risk in frontal crashes after changing to sled certification (RR=0.89; 95% CI=0.82-0.96). Among pickups, however, estimated frontal fatality risk increased 35% (RR=1.35; 95% CI=1.12-1.62).  For a broad range of frontal crashes (11, 12, and 1 o'clock combined), the results indicated a modest net benefit of the regulatory change across all vehicle types and driver characteristics.  However, the contrary finding for pickups needs to be researched further.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 12 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/748455</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>THE BLUE RIBBON PANEL ON DEPOWERED AND ADVANCED AIRBAGS--STATUS REPORT ON AIRBAG PERFORMANCE. SUMMARY</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/665550</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This summary introduces the Blue Ribbon Panel (BRP) conference session, discusses the establishment of the BRP and its composition, presents the goals of the BRP, and concludes by stating the goal of the BRP conference session.  Briefly, the BRP is a panel of experts consisting of representatives from the highway safety research community, the National Transportation Safety Board, academia, medical institutions, and the insurance industry.  Established as the Blue Ribbon Panel for Evaluation of Depowered and Advanced Airbags, the BRP goals are to answer three basic questions:  (1) Are vehicles equipped with redesigned and advanced airbag systems as effective as vehicles equipped with first-generation airbags at reducing overall injury and death in frontal crashes?  (2) Are vehicles equipped with sled-certified airbag systems offering reduced protection in higher severity crashes, particularly for unbelted occupants? (3) Is the incidence of airbag-induced injuries to children and other vulnerable occupants lower in vehicles with redesigned airbags, particularly in low-speed frontal impacts?]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 21 Oct 2003 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/665550</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE URGENCY ALGORITHM TO PREDICT COMPELLING INJURIES</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/720155</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The URGENCY algorithm uses data from on-board crash recorders to assist in identifying crashes that are most likely to have time critical (compelling) injuries.  The injury risks projected by using the National Automotive Sampling System/Crashworthiness Data System data are the basis for the URGENCY algorithm.  This study applied the algorithm retrospectively to a population of injured occupants in the database from the University of Miami School of Medicine, William Lehman Injury Research Center.  The population selected was adult occupants in frontal crashes that were protected by three point belts plus an air bag.  For the cases with greater than 50% predicted Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS) 3+ injury probability, 96% of the occupants in the study had MAIS 3+ injuries.  For the cases with less than 10% predicted MAIS 3+ injury probability, 63% did not have MAIS 3+ injuries.  Most of the MAIS 3+ injuries not predicted involved injuries in multiple impact crashes, pole crashes or close-in occupants injured by air bag deployment.  Modifications to the URGENCY algorithm to include predictors for these three factors significantly improved accuracy of the MAIS 3+ injury predictions.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 11 Jun 2002 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/720155</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>LIKE HITTING A WALL</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/474700</link>
      <description><![CDATA[A study in the Fall of 1996 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded that air bags increase the fatality risk to children in the front passenger seat of a vehicle by 30%.  Since the government began phasing in an air bag requirement in 1993, 28 children have been killed by the devices as have 19 adults, most of them women.  Recently, a properly belted front seat 5 year old passenger was killed by an air bag, and her mother walked away from an otherwise minor fender bender.  Car manufacturers argue that part of the problem lies with the regulations, which call for protecting an unbelted 168 pound man in a 30 mph crash. That requires the bag to inflate at high pressure.  But passengers wearing seat belts don't require such powerful protection, and in the 12 years since the standard was originally drafted, seat belt usage has increased from under 20% to nearly 70%.  So the auto industry is seeking permission to make bags that will inflate with less oomph.  Also, the industry would like air bags to deploy at speeds of 25 mph or greater, whereas now they deploy starting at 15 mph.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 19 Dec 1997 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/474700</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>AIR BAG UPDATE. OUR FEARS ARE REALIZED - CHILDREN ARE AT RISK</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/474698</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In September 1993, this journal reported on a disturbing prediction that small children would be at significant risk for injury and even death as more cars were equipped with passenger's side air bags.  We were correct.  More than 2 dozen children under the age of 12 have ben killed by passenger's side air bags since 1993.  According to the Parents' Coalition for Air Bag Warnings, passenger's side air bags are killing twice as many children as they are saving.  And most of these deaths are occurring at very low speeds - fast enough to deploy the air bag but slow enough so that the injuries would have been minor without air bag deployment.  This article goes on to make the point (noted by Andrew H. Card, Jr., head of the American Automobile Association) that relying on tests without safety belts (the standard air bag crash test) to dictate the performance of a device designed to act with safety  belts just doesn't make sense.  It also discusses the smart air bags that are available in some European made cars.  A patented force-sensing resistor is incorporated into the seat design. When a person weighing more that 26 pounds is in the seat, the air bag is activated and ready to deploy during a crash. The Mercedes SLK roadster has a system called Baby Smart which uses a special optional child seat with a built-in transponder that receives a signal from the air bag system. The passenger's side air bag will not inflate if Baby Smart senses the presence of a child seat. The article concludes that manufacturers and suppliers need to work on solutions that will refine the deployment of the air bag, reducing its force based upon the weight of the person in the seat. And for now, place your children in the back seat.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 19 Dec 1997 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/474698</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>SHORT DRIVERS AND AIR BAGS</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/474699</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Short drivers, who often must sit close to the steering wheel, may be at risk for air bag caused fatalities.  Of the 18 drivers killed by air bags since 1990, 15 were women averaging 5 feet, 1 1/2 inches.  Regulators think air bags have saved more short drivers than they have harmed but are studying the issue.  For now, the National Safety Council urges short drivers to wear seat belts, raise the seat and move it as far back as possible, and consider pedal extenders, available at shops that convert vehicles for the disabled.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 19 Dec 1997 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/474699</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>BUCKLE UP OR ELSE...</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/474697</link>
      <description><![CDATA[President Clinton has threatened to cut off millions of dollars in highway trust funds to states that won't toughen safety belt use laws. Clinton wants states to adopt primary enforcement laws that allow the stopping and ticketing of unbelted motorists. The renewed emphasis on belt use appears to be the result of the government's part in an ongoing controversy where almost two thirds of drivers are injured in crashes when the airbag deploys at speeds up to 200 mph.  With NHTSA allowing makers to produces airbags that are from 20 to 25% less powerful, it's predicted that fewer airbag injuries will occur.  However, NHTSA's own estimates predict that less powerful airbags may mean that 2,000 average size adults who refuse to buckle up will now die annually.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 19 Dec 1997 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/474697</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>FACIAL, PERIORBITAL AND OCULAR INJURIES RELATED TO STEERING WHEEL AIRBAG DEPLOYMENTS</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/474690</link>
      <description><![CDATA[To determine the frequency of facial injuries from steering wheel airbag deployments, 540 consecutive steering wheel airbag deployments, investigated by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) personnel, were reviewed.  About 1 in 3 drivers sustain an injury to the face. Injuries to the areas surrounding the eye (periorbital) or to the eyeball (ocular) rarely occur.  The frequencies of facial or ocular injuries are the same for belted and unbelted drivers. Drivers of short stature had a higher frequency of facial injury. Females sustained ocular injuries more frequently than males. Untethered airbags were not overly involved in drivers with an ocular injury.  No specific make or model car were overly represented in the ocular injury cases.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 17 Dec 1997 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/474690</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>UPPER-EXTREMITY INJURIES FROM STEERING WHEEL AIRBAG DEPLOYMENTS</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/474688</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In a review of 540 crashes in which the steering wheel airbag deployed, 38% of the drivers sustained some level of upper extremity injury.  The majority of these were AIS-1 injuries including abrasions, contusions and small lacerations.  In 18 crashes the drivers sustained AIS-2 or-3 level upper extremity injuries, including fractures of the radius and/or ulna, or of the metacarpal bones, all related to airbag deployments.  It was determined that six drivers sustained the fracture(s) directly from the deploying airbag or the airbag module cover.  The remaining 12 drivers had fractures from the extremity being flung into interior vehicle structures, usually the instrument panel.  Most drivers were taller than 170 cm and, of the 18 drivers, 10 were males.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 17 Dec 1997 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/474688</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>CRANIAL-VERTEBRAL FRACTURES AND DISLOCATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH STEERING WHEEL AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/471815</link>
      <description><![CDATA[From field investigations of 477 airbag deployments a number of cervical and craniocervical fractures and dislocations have been identified.  Case histories of these injury types are presented in this paper.  Injury mechanism appears to be due to distraction of the upper cervical at the junction of the base of the skull from upward forces produced by the airbag in association with possible airbag-chest interaction that augments the distraction forces.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 16 Dec 1997 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/471815</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>FRONT SEAT PASSENGERS AND AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/471816</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Passenger side airbag effectiveness is relatively unknown, for infrequently is there a passenger in the front seat when the airbag deploys.  Injuries from passenger side airbag deployment are usually minor and approximately 42% of the passengers have no airbag related injuries.  The cases selected for presentation in this paper are fatalities related to the airbag and are from the field accident investigations conducted of airbag deployments by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Special Crash Investigation program and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute personnel.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 16 Dec 1997 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/471816</guid>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>