Accident statistics in Germany have shown that in the last decade fatalities due to road accidents have dropped by more than 30%. This reduction was influenced in particular by the decrease in passenger car fatalities (more than 35%), although the number of vehicles and the total annual mileage increased during the same period. This trend therefore results from an improvement in secondary safety, in particular by equipping cars with airbags in addition to the presence of seat belts.

In collaboration with the ADAC (German Automobile Club), the Institute for Vehicle Safety (IFM) conducted a retrospective study of airbag accident material. Engineers and medical doctors analyzed almost 700 topical cases (92% since 1997) involving airbag-equipped cars.

This research confirmed the great safety benefit of front airbags, not only for the driver but for the front seat passenger for the first time as well. In severe frontal collisions the proportion of severe and fatal injuries, both to driver and front passenger, is about 20% lower than without airbags.

In frontal collisions belted and airbag-protected occupants suffered injuries (AIS 2+) to the thorax region and lower extremities in the majority of cases. Injuries to the head and upper extremities came in third place. The injury pattern demonstrated that optimizing the interaction between belt/airbag regarding the restraint of pelvis and chest could reduce severe injuries. Attention must be paid in particular to the aggressive impact of the knee against the dashboard.

Initial experience with side head and thorax airbags indicated a considerable improvement in protection. Due to the small number of cases in the study, the results cannot be considered to be statistically significant. The positive results from these cases should be confirmed by enlarging the number of cases with side airbags.

The accident material includes 564 vehicles involving at least one deployed airbag. In some cases there was a certain aggressivity associated with the airbag, e.g. 57 cases involving acoustic trauma, in most cases temporary, and 40 cases involving minor burns.