DETERMINANTS OF INJURY SEVERITY WITH CHILD EXPOSURE TO PASSENGER AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT

In this paper, a comparison study was conducted between two groups of children between one and twelve years of age exposed to passenger air bag deployment. Group 1 was composed of children fatally injured by passenger air bag exposure and investigated by the Special Crash Investigation Program of the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Group 2, the comparison group, was composed of children exposed to passenger air bgs, but suffering minor injury and was selected through the Partners for Child Passenger Safety Study, a unique mechanism for identifying children in crashes. The crash severity as measured by delta v was not significantly different between the two groups (p=0.35). The most striking difference between the two groups was the pattern of restraint usage. Lap shoulder belt use was twelve times as high in group 2 than in group1. In addition,pre-impact braking was 2.5 times more comon in group 1. These results indicate the importance of pre-crash positioning as a risk factor in child exposure to air bag deployment. In addition, the average height and weight of the children in the group 2 correspond to at least a fifth percentile eleven-year-old. This relationship suggests that size and restraint status rather than age are important determinants of air bag injury risk. (A) For the covering abstract see IRRD E103261.

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  PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING PUBLICATIONS LTD

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• Authors:
  • Arbogast, K B
• Publication Date: 1999

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: p. 71-9
• Serial:
  • CHILD OCCUPANT PROTECTION IN MOTOR VEHICLE CRASHES - TO BE HELD AT THE MELIA GRAN SITGES HOTEL, PORT D'AIGUADOLC, SITGES, BARCELONA, SPAIN ON 22 SEPTEMBER 1999
  • Publisher: PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING PUBLICATIONS LTD

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air bags; Children; Crash severity; Injuries; Injury severity
• ITRD Terms: 1465: Air bag (restraint system); 1758: Child; 2163: Injury; 1623: Severity (accid, injury)
• Subject Areas: Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00781409
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• ISBN: 1-86058-240-0
• Files: ITRD
• Created Date: Jan 7 2000 12:00AM