INSURANCE SPECIAL REPORT: DRIVER INJURY EXPERIENCE IN 1990 MODELS EQUIPPED WITH AIR BAGS OR AUTOMATIC BELTS

This Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) special report presents the results of a special survey of insurance claims information on the injury and inpatient hospitalization experience of drivers of 1990 passenger cars equipped with either air bags or automatic belts. The survey included information on driver injuries in frontal crashes resulting in more than $5,000 damage to the car. Among the findings are the following: Almost half of the drivers in these crashes reported some type of injury as a result of the crash. About one in four of the injured drivers sustained moderate to severe injuries. About one in 13 drivers was injured so seriously as to require treatment as a hospital inpatient. After standardizing the data to account for differences in car prices, drivers of air bag equipped cars had about the same frequency of injuries, regardless of severity, as that of drivers of automatic belt cars. However, drivers of air bag equipped cars were 25% less likely to have suffered moderate and severe injuries and 24% less likely to have received inpatient hospital treatment than were drivers of automatic belt cars. When the data were standardized to account for differences in car size, drivers of air bag and automatic belt cars had the same frequency of injuries, regardless of severity. However, moderate and severe injury rates were 28% lower and hospital inpatient rates were 24% lower for drivers of air bag cars than for drivers of automatic belt cars. Drivers of midsize and large cars with air bags were less likely to have been treated as hospital inpatients than were drivers of comparably sized cars equipped with automatic belts, but drivers of small air bag equipped cars were somewhat more likely to have been treated as inpatients than were drivers of small cars with automatic belts. Drivers of air bag cars generally had lower rates of injury to the head and torso regions than did drivers of automatic belt cars. These differences were more pronounced when only moderate and severe head and torso injuries were compared.

• Corporate Authors:

  Highway Loss Data Institute

  1005 North Glebe Road
  Arlington, VA  United States  22201
• Publication Date: 1991-10

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 19 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air bags; Automatic seat belts; Automobiles; Data collection; Frontal crashes; Head; Injuries; Injury severity; Insurance; Insurance claims; Loss and damage claims; Statistics; Surveys; Vehicle size
• Uncontrolled Terms: Head injuries
• Old TRIS Terms: Automatic restraints
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I81: Accident Statistics; I84: Personal Injuries; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00616477
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: HLDI A-38, HS-041 462
• Files: HSL, TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 31 1991 12:00AM