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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has sponsored extensive research to improve the frontal protection of motor vehicles. Most of the research was conducted during the 1970's when belt usage rates were less than 10%. At that time, the research objectives did not anticipate the combination of air bags and three point manual belts as the restraint of choice for the 1990's. Consequently, little research was undertaken to extend the performance of this combination. However, the research conducted at that time offers opportunities for significant additional improvements in frontal protection. The purpose of this paper is to summarize some of the relevant research which was sponsored by NHTSA under the direction of the authors. Results will be highlighted which are particularly applicable to current vehicle configurations. Opportunities for further improvement, and required research are discussed.

The objective of this program was to design, test, evaluate, manufacture and install in 500 state highway patrol vehicles, a driver air bag retrofit system. Air bag system benefits are universally accepted. However, the costs, complexities and availabilities of these systems are widely misunderstood. This program takes much of the “mystery” out of the air bag and demonstrates to fleet operators and to the public at large that air bag technology, components and systems do presently exist and can be acquired at a reasonable cost. The following paper provides a description of the system, the tests which were conducted, the installation procedures and field experience with the 500 car fleet.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has conducted a number of research projects which examined the need and concern for occupants of small cars. These projects include the demonstration of air bags in small cars at crash severities equal to or greater than the 30 mph test required by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) 208. The results from these projects showing the protective capability of the air bag are reviewed. Factors influencing air bag performance such as amount of vehicle crush and the time available for air bag inflation are examined. Existing technology for providing air bag protection to occupants in small cars is discussed. The issue concerning the safety of out-of-position child passengers is addressed including a number of technical options for dealing with the out-of-position occupant.

The objective of this program is to design, test, evaluate, manufacture, and install in 500 state highway patrol vehicles a driver airbag retrofit system. Airbag system benefits are universally accepted. However, the costs, complexities, and availabilities of these systems are widely misunderstood. This program takes much of the mystery out of the airbag and demonstrates to fleet operators and the public at large that airbag technology, components, and systems do presently exist and can be acquired at a reasonable cost. Detailed information on system design, selection of vehicles and states to participate, as well as sled testing and full-scale crash testing are presented as SAE Paper 841216, "Driver Airbag Police Fleet Demonstration Program--A 15-Month Progress Report" by the same authors.