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. The present paper reviews very briefly those aspects of the program and places emphasis on the field experience of the 500-car fleet, which to this point has experienced 18 actual airbag deployment crashes (16 of which have occurred in the past 9 months).