Effectiveness of airbags in Australia

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Fildes, Brian¹; Deery, Hamish¹; Lenard, Jim¹; Kenny, David¹; Edwards-Coghill, Kate¹; Jacobsen, Simon²

Effectiveness of airbags in Australia

Proceedings of the 15th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV)

Affiliations

¹Monash University Accident Research Unit

²General Motors Holden's Automotive Ltd, Australia
Abstract

General Motors - Holden's Automotive (Holden) was the first Australian manufacturer to introduce a package of new safety features with the release of the VR Commodore, including a driver's side airbag. This was followed two years later with a passenger airbag, released in the VS model. These airbags, in conjunction with an improved seat belt system, have the distinction of being specifically designed for Australian driving and accident conditions and as a consequence are different to those found in vehicles designed overseas. To determine the effectiveness of these systems the investigation of a number of field accidents has been conducted. The preliminary results of this work, although not all statistically significant, are very encouraging and suggest that the airbags have had a positive effect on reducing occupant injury with few of the negative side effects that are now being identified with some foreign airbag systems.

Cited Works (2)

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Cited By (11)

Year	Entry
2001	Vehicle design. In: Ageing and Transport: Mobility Needs and Safety Issues. Paris, France: Organisation for Economic Co-Operation And Development (OECD); 2001:69-80.
2004	Fitzharris M, Fildes B, Newstead S, Logan D. Benefits of Australian design rule 69 (full frontal crash protection) and airbags in frontal crashes in Australia. In: 48th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). September 13-15, 2004; Key Biscayne, FL.35-53.
1996	Preston M, Sparke L. Race car safety development. In: Proceedings of the 15th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 13-16, 1996; Melbourne, Australia.726-731.
1998	Lenard J, Frampton R, Thomas P. The influence of European air bags on crash injury outcomes. In: Proceedings of the 16th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 31–June 4, 1998; Windsor, Ontario, Canada.972-982.
1998	Morris A, Fildes B. Preliminary experience of passenger airbag deployments in Australia. In: Proceedings of the 16th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 31–June 4, 1998; Windsor, Ontario, Canada.1122-1125.
1998	Morris A, Fildes B, Digges K, Dalmotas D, Langwieder K. Injuries in primary and supplementary airbag systems. In: Proceedings of the 16th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 31–June 4, 1998; Windsor, Ontario, Canada.983-988.
1998	Rains GC, Prasad A, Summers L, Terrell M. Assessment of advanced air bag technology and less aggressive air bag designs through performance testing. In: Proceedings of the 16th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 31–June 4, 1998; Windsor, Ontario, Canada.1003-.
2001	Morris A, Barnes J, Fildes B. A preliminary evaluation of passenger airbag effectiveness in Australia. In: Proceedings of the 17th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). June 4-7, 2001; Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
1997	Fildes B, Deery H, Vulcan P. A preliminary analysis of the effectiveness of airbag technology in reducing seatbelt injuries. In: Proceedings of the 1997 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 24-26, 1997; Hannover, Germany.387-397.
1998	Vulcan P. Australian efforts to improve motor vehicle occupant protection. In: Proceedings of the 1998 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 16-18, 1998; Göteberg, Sweden.9-23.
1999	Deery HA, Morris AP, Fildes BN, Newstead SV. Airbag technology in Australian passenger cars: preliminary results from real world crash investigations. J Crash Prev Injury Control. 1999;1(2):121-128.