Performance evaluation of seat-integrated restraint systems (SIRS) in controlled crashes

Parenteau, Chantal; Lau, Edmund C.; Burnett, Roger A.; Toomey, Daniel

Affiliations

¹Design Research Engineering

Abstract and keywords

Objective: Seat Integrated Restraint Systems (SIRS) were introduced in the 1990s and were most utilised in 1995 to 2010 model year vehicles. Few vehicles manufactured today are equipped with SIRS in the front seat, yet they are given serious considerations for future autonomous driving vehicles as they offer flexibility in seating orientation. This study assesses the safety performance of SIRS using U.S. field accident data. It evaluates whether SIRS affected seatbelt use and affected injury risks.

Method: 1995–2015 NASS-CDS and 2017–2022 CISS were analysed to assess the performance of SIRS by comparing the restraint use and the risk of serious-to-fatal injury (MAIS 3+F) for front outboard occupants [FOB) in integrated seats (SIRS) and in conventional seats (non-SIRS) of similar vehicles. The data was analysed by crash type and vehicle type. Except for restraint use, the analysis was limited to belted occupants 13 and older.

Results: Seatbelt use was similar in SIRS and non-SIRS, irrespective of vehicle type. Overall seatbelt use was 86.5% (95% CI: 84.1%–88.9%) in SIRS and 87.7% (95%CI: 85.5%–89.9%) in non-SIRS. The risk of serious injury was greater in SIRS than non-SIRS, irrespective of vehicle and crash types. Differences in injury risk however only reached statistical significance in frontal crashes with passenger cars with a risk of 3.31% (95%CI: 1.68%–5.80%) in SIRS and 1.18% (95th CI: 0.64%–1.99%) in non-SIRS. The relative risk was 2.80 (1.31–6.00, p=0.002). It was marginally significant in frontal crashes with a relative risk of 1.60 (95%CI: 0.96–2.67, p=0.061). The survey-based logistic regression found that age, sex, front airbag deployment, and crash severity had a significant association with injury (p<0.05).

Conclusions: The evaluation of SIRS performance in the field indicates that they did not provide an overall safety advantage over conventional seats; they did not reduce injury risks nor encourage front seat occupants to use their seatbelt. Additional investigations of SIRS performance may be warranted prior to being considered for autonomous driving, including testing in various crash conditions

Keywords: integrated seat; injury; crashes; real-world data

Links

URL: https://www.ircobi.org/wordpress/downloads/irc24/pdf-files/24124.pdf

Cited Works (5)

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