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This study, which is an extension of an earlier study, examined an additional 64 frontal crashes of airbag-equipped vehicles in the 1997-98 National Automotive Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System (NASS/CDS) in which the driver died. The principal cause of death in each case was determined based on an examination of the publicly available case materials, which primarily consisted of the crash narrative, the injury/source summary, and photographs of the crashed vehicle. Results were consistent with the earlier analyses of the 1990-96 NASS/CDS files. In the combined data set (1990-98), gross deformation of the occupant compartment was the leading cause (42 percent) of driver deaths in these 116 frontal crashes. The force of the deploying airbag (16 percent) and ejection from the vehicle (13 percent) also accounted for significant portions of the driver deaths in these frontal crashes. There continues to be little or no evidence that airbags deploy with too little energy.

The current study estimates about 5 percent of the U.S. female population sits closer than 10 inches from the steering wheel; 35 percent for the smallest 10 percent of the female population. Of the females sitting closer than 10 inches, 66 percent sit within 9-10 inches, and 17 percent sit within 8-9 inches. In a separate study, drivers sitting within 9-10 inches were able to increase this distance to 10 inches or more and still drive comfortably in a number of cars by making a few minor seating adjustments.

This paper examines the effects that downsizing has had on occupant injury. Statistical models are derived which demonstrate the relative risks associated with downsized cars and restraint use. Then actual occupant injuries are analysed to show how the total pattern of occupant injuries changes with downsizing. Each additional thousand pounds of vehicle mass decreases the odds of a driver injury in a crash by 34 percent when the driver is not restrained. For restrained drivers, this decrease is 25 percent per thousand. Restraint use further decreases the odds of a driver injury by two-thirds. To gain the same reduction in injury odds afforded the belted driver of a 2500 pound passenger car, the unbelted driver requires a 4325 pound car. For unrestrained occupants, the instrument panel, steering assembly and windshield (in frontal impacts) are the most frequent sources of injury.

Using data from the National Automotive Sampling System/Crashworthiness Data System (NASS/CDS) for1995-96, this study updates previous analyses of driver fatalities in airbag-equipped vehicles in the NASS/CDS database for 1989-93 and 1989-94. A total of 59 cases of frontal crashes of airbag-equipped vehicles with driver fatalities were identified in these 8 years of NASS/CDS data, but in 9 cases the fatalities were not related to the impacts (e.g., fire, medical condition). Vehicle intrusion was the cause of the fatal injuries in 27 cases, and 7drivers died from injuries sustained when they were either partially or totally ejected from their vehicles. There was one case in which the airbag did not deploy, although the crash conditions indicated it should have. One driver died from contact with a nonintruding vehicle surface, and the causes of the fatal injuries in 5 cases were unknown.

Automobile safety has improved since the 1960s, mostly because of improved vehicle structures and restraint systems. Another round of revolutionary change is promised by advanced information technologies, but it's unlikely that all of these will improve safety. In particular, many of these technologies change the driving task, and it's critical to understand how drivers respond to the changes because the responses may enhance or counteract any potential safety benefits. This paper will discuss what is necessary to predict driver response.

The occupants of passenger vehicles struck in the side by another vehicle are more likely to be fatally injured than are occupants of the striking vehicle. The risk of fatality in a side-struck car is higher still when the striking vehicle is a pickup or utility vehicle rather than a passenger car of the same mass. This suggests there are other factors inherent to pickup and utility vehicle design in addition to mass that contribute to this increased risk. In this paper, results are presented from a series of six 90-degree, front-to-side crash tests conducted with both vehicles moving. The side-struck vehicle, a Mercury Grand Marquis with a BioSID (biofidelic side impact dummy) in the driver position, was moving at 24 km/h (15 mi/h) in all tests.