Comparison of real world side impact/rollover collisions with and without thorax airbag/head protection system:​ a first field experience study

Baur, Peter; Lange, Wolfgang; Messner, Georg; Rauscher, Stefan; Pieske, Oliver

Affiliations

¹Department of Engineering, BMW of North America, Inc., Montvale, New Jersey

²Department of Vehicle Safety, Regulations and Certifications, BMW Group, Munich, Germany

³Department of Traumatology, Klinikum Grosshadern, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany

Abstract

After the introduction of the Thorax Airbag (TA) and the Head Protection System (HPS) by BMW there has been a significant reduction of injuries in real-world collisions. Comparison of similar collisions (in-depth collision analyses) of vehicles with and without HPS/TA indicates that the effectiveness of the system was credible. Minor injuries (AIS 1) increase while serious injuries (AIS 3+) are reduced. Based on the limited cases available, a proper statistical sampling could not be achieved at this time, however the results are to be understood as indicative of a trend.

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Cited By (10)

Year	Entry
2005	Yoganandan N, Pintar FA, Gennarelli TA. Field data on head injuries in side airbag vehicles in lateral impact. In: 49th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). September 12-14, 2005; Boston, MA.171-184.
2010	Jakobsson L, Lindman M, Svanberg B, Carlsson H. Real world data driven evolution of Volvo cars' side impact protection systems and their effectiveness. In: 54th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 17-20, 2010; Las Vegas, NV.127-136.
2003	Kirk A, Morris A. Side airbag deployments in the UK: initial case reviews. In: Proceedings of the 18th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 19-22, 2003; Nagoya, Japan.
2005	Morris A, Welsh R, Thomas P, Kirk A. Head and chest injury outcomes in struck-side crashes. In: Proceedings of the 2005 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 21-23, 2005; Prague, Czech Republic.73-83.
2005	Yoganandan N, Pintar FA, Gennarelli TA. Evaluation of side impact injuries in vehicles equipped with side airbags. In: Proceedings of the 2005 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 21-23, 2005; Prague, Czech Republic.97-108.
2008	Welsh R, Reed S, Morris A. AIS 3+ head injury mechanisms and crash characteristics: a review of airbag deployed frontal crashes. In: Proceedings of the 2008 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 17-19, 2008; Bern, Switzerland.17-31.
2009	Hallman J, Yoganandan N, Pintar F. Side airbag out-of-position deployments: thoracic injury to stationary and dynamic occupants. In: Proceedings of the 2009 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 9-11, 2009; York, UK.129-140.
2015	Yoganandan N, Humm JR, Pintar FA, Arun MWJ, Rhule H, Rudd R, Craig M. Oblique loading in post mortem human surrogates from vehicle lateral impacttests using chestbands. Stapp Car Crash J. November 2015;59:1-22.
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2010	Hallman JJ. Detrimental Thoracoabdominal Interaction With Lateral Airbag Restraints [PhD thesis]. Wilwaukee, WI: Marquette University; December 2010.