Airbags

Q&A: Airbags

Informational videos

Full frontal test with and without airbag/safety belt, 95th percentile dummy

Rear-facing infant seat with deploying front passenger airbag test

Static frontal driver airbag deployment test

Consumer brochures

About your airbags — airbags save lives but can sometimes cause injury — a few simple steps can eliminate the risks (also available in Spanish)

Research papers

Most shorter drivers can avoid deactivation, research paper excerpt

Selected research bibliography

Highlights from the Institute's research since 1969

News releases

January 19, 2011 Vehicles that earn good test ratings for side-impact protection greatly reduce risk of dying for drivers in real-world crashes

October 5, 2006 Side airbags substantially reduce death risk in cars & SUVs; those that protect people's heads are especially effective

August 26, 2003 In real-world crashes, side airbags with head protection are saving lives

December 14, 2000 Impressive crash test performance for vehicles with side airbags that protect occupants' heads

August 7, 2000 Airbag design changes in Volvo S80 improve crashworthiness; car's rating upgraded to 'best pick' among midsize luxury cars

April 6, 1999 Impressive crash test performance for vehicles with side airbags that also protect people's heads

July 30, 1998 Institute applauds NHTSA's rulemaking change that will allow advanced head protection in side impacts

November 18, 1997 Turning off an airbag 'almost never makes sense;' very few drivers or passengers need switches

October 29, 1997 New airbag system to protect occupants' heads in side impacts makes impressive crash test showing

July 3, 1997 Institute counters claims about the "safest" and the "most dangerous" airbags in current vehicle models

June 27, 1997 With or without airbags, children are safer when they ride restrained in back

January 9, 1997 Negative publicity about airbags obscuring their benefit; Institute advises against disconnecting airbags except in rare cases

Status Report newsletter special issues

Vol. 38, No. 7, June 28, 2003: Special issue: side impact crashworthiness, including side airbags

Vol. 36, No. 1, January 6, 2001: Special issue: head protection in side impacts: includes list of 2001 models with side airbag head protection

Vol. 35, No. 6, June 17, 2000: Special issue: new federal airbag rule: Long-awaited airbag standard specifies new tests, including full-scale crash tests, plus new dummies, injury criteria, and more • Summary of new airbag tests • Debate about testing at 25 vs. 30 mph with unbelted dummies dominates the airbag rulemaking process • Driver and passenger airbag deaths confirmed as of May 1, 2000 • Test dummies and injury criteria under the new federal rule

Vol. 32, No. 9, November 29, 1997: Special issue: airbags: Rare bird — only a few should get airbag on/off switches • Most shorter drivers can eliminate risk without an on/off switch • Kids safer restrained in back in vehicles with and without passenger airbags • With on/off switches, some belts may have to be replaced • Hold on unbelted barrier test may be extended, different size dummies used

Status Report newsletter articles

Vol. 47, No. 10, December 20, 2012: Combination side airbags reduce death and injury risk

Vol. 45, No. 1, February 6, 2010: Frontal airbags designed to meet the latest federal standards appear to have reduced protection for belted drivers in front crashes

Vol 44, No. 2, March 7, 2009: Frontal airbags reportedly failed to inflate, but Institute researchers found errors in the way crash data sometimes are reported

Vol 43, No. 4, June 9, 2008: Panel finds that redesigned airbags improve protection for children and adults

Vol. 43, No. 2, March 15, 2008: ESC helps keep vehicles from rolling over, and side airbags protect people in the rollover crashes that still occur

Vol. 42, No. 1, January 27, 2007: Airbags: What you might not know (or don't remember)

Vol. 41, No. 8, October 7, 2006: Side airbags are reducing driver deaths in both cars and SUVs

Vol. 41, No. 2, February 25, 2006: Erroneous finding about airbags stems from misuse of federal dataset

Vol. 40, No. 7, August 6, 2005: Federal safety standards have saved hundreds of thousands of lives • Deaths caused by inflating airbags have been dramatically reduced

Vol. 39, No. 9, September 13, 2004: Side airbag agreement minimizes the risks of inflation injury • 2004 models with side airbags that meet test specifications to reduce risks

Vol. 39, No. 7, August 1, 2004: US Court of Appeals upholds NHTSA's decision on 25 mph test speed with unbelted dummies • Airbags that inflate with less power reduce inflation deaths without compromising protection in high-speed crashes

Vol. 39, No. 6, July 1, 2004: On/off switches for front passenger airbags often aren't being used correctly

Vol. 39, No. 3, March 6, 2004: Depowered airbags have lessened the fatality risk for drivers of most passenger vehicles but not pickup trucks

Vol. 38, No. 8, August 26, 2003: Side airbags that protect the head reduce driver fatality risk by 45 percent • Consumers say they want side airbags • 2004 models with side airbags

Vol. 38, No. 3, March 15, 2003: Advanced airbag phase in gets pushed back slightly • unbelted crash test speed is subject of legal challenge • Institute and others support test speed of 25 mph

Vol. 38, No. 2, February 8, 2003: Salvaged, stolen, or fake airbags may be a growing problem that most state laws aren't yet addressing

Vol. 37, No. 4, April 6, 2002: Deaths caused by inflating airbags have declined dramatically

Vol. 34, No. 8, October 2, 1999: Technical group on side airbags will develop procedures to assess safety

Vol. 34, No. 4, April 24, 1999: Impressive crash test performance for Ford with side airbags that also protect the head • On the brink of advanced frontal airbags in new cars

Vol. 34, No, 2, February 6, 1999: Changes to federal airbag rules shouldn't include reinstating 30 mph unbelted crash test, Institute and others tell NHTSA

Vol. 33, No. 9, October 10, 1998: Advanced airbags are the focus of new NHTSA rulemaking • Side airbags for people's heads are facilitated by new NHTSA rule

Vol. 33, No. 7, July 11, 1998: Advanced airbags mandated in new federal funding law

Vol. 33, No. 3, April 4, 1998: Airbag switches sought by people who transport kids in front

Vol. 32, No. 10, December 27, 1997: BMW's new HPS protects heads from serious injury in side impact crashes • Import automakers plan window curtain airbags for heads

Vol. 32, No. 7, August 30, 1997: Drivers want vehicles with airbags and are aware of airbag injury risks

Vol. 32, No. 2, February 15, 1997: Airbag depowering, deactivation are addressed in comments • Consumers still want airbags in their cars, Institute survey finds

Vol. 32, No. 1, January 11, 1997: Crash tests show why airbags are important safety features • Brian O'Neill on the dangers of disconnecting airbags

Advisories

September 2003 Potential problems with using salvaged airbags and ones from sources other than OEMS

July 1997 Airbag deactivation: implications for motorists and auto insurers

November 1996 Addressing the risks from airbag inflation for infants, children, and short drivers

July 1996 What's being done to reduce the adverse side effects of inflating airbags

March 1994 Media still distorting HLDI data on airbags, antilocks

December 1993: Media distort HLDI data on insurance injury claim frequencies for airbags

Regulatory comments

Comment to the National Conference of Insurance Legislators concerning the use of salvaged airbags in vehicle repair (Proposed model act regarding auto airbag fraud), August 21, 2009

Comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning its evaluation report on redesigned front airbags (Docket No. NHTSA-2006-26486, Notice 1), March 27, 2007

Comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning proposed frontal offset crash test (Docket No. NHTSA 2003-15715), July 2, 2004

Comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning increasing the impact speed of the full-width barrier test involving 5th percentile female dummies (Docket No. NHTSA-03-15732), October 6, 2003

Letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning recommended procedures for evaluating occupant injury risk from deploying side airbags (Docket No. NHTSA-99-5098), September 8, 2003

Comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213; Child Restraint Systems, Side Impact Protection for Restrained Children (Docket No. NHTSA 02-12151), August 22, 2002

Comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning monitoring the performance of depowered and advanced airbags and developing data for potential future airbag rulemakings (Docket No. NHTSA 2001-8953), August 9, 2001

Comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 and providing the Institute's analysis of two 1998 National Automotive Sampling System cases cited by the Center for Auto Safety (Docket No. NHTSA 1999-6407, Notice 1), March 6, 2000

Comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 and refuting assertions by the Center for Auto Safety about statements in the Institute's December 30, 1999 comment (Docket No. NHTSA 1999-6407, Notice 1), February 25, 2000

Comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 and providing testimony on airbag test requirements under proposed new rule (Docket No. NHTSA 1999-6407, Notice 1), February 11, 2000

Comment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 and the proposal to adopt one of several alternative crash tests to evaluate the protection of unbelted occupants in moderate- to high-speed crashes (Docket No. NHTSA 1999-6407, Notice 1), December 30, 1999

Testimony

Statement before the US House of Representatives, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Approaches to achieving vehicle safety improvements, Brian O'Neill, March 18, 2004.

Statement before the Transportation Subcommittee of the US House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, Airbag test requirements under proposed new rule, Brian O'Neill, February 10, 2000

Brief

Brief supporting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's 2001 final rule on advanced airbags, December 23, 2002

Petitions

Petition to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning denial of original petition (September 5, 2002) regarding dummy seating positions in tests for occupant crash protection, July 13, 2004

Petition to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concerning Occupant Crash Protection (49 CFR 571.208) and Side Impact Protection (49 CFR 571.214), September 5, 2002