October 2006
Side air bags prevent deaths
Insurance institute study shows they could save 2,000 lives per year
Side air bags, particularly the type that protect both a person's torso and head, can turn thousands of otherwise fatal crashes
into survivable accidents, according to a study released today by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The study
estimates that for car drivers, head-and-torso bags reduce the risk of death by 37 percent, and SUV drivers see a risk reduction
of more than 52 percent in side-impact crashes. The benefit was smaller from torso-only bags, where the reduction was pegged
at 26 percent and 30 percent, respectively.
As front-crash protection has improved in cars over the years, side crashes have emerged as the more lethal crash type. A car's ability to protect occupants in a side collision is limited compared with that in a frontal crash, because there isn't much room in side doors and body structure to crumple, absorb, or otherwise manage the impact forces. Side air bags can reduce those risks, deploying from a seat edge, door, or roof once crash sensors detect a serious collision. Head and torso (chest and abdomen) side bags are optional or standard in more than three-quarters of 2006 model-year cars and more than half the 2006 SUVs.
Years of crash testing by both the federal government and the IIHS have shown that side air bags make a big difference, but gathering real-world data to measure the actual death-prevention effectiveness of the bags has been a challenge.
To tally the averted deaths for this study, the IIHS reviewed the government's records of fatal side-impact crashes in cars and SUVs with and without side air bags. The study was limited to driver deaths only and to passenger cars and SUVs, and did not include pickups. The cars analyzed were 1997 to 2004 models involved in crashes that occurred from 1999 to 2004. The SUVs studied were 2001 to 2004 models that crashed between 2000 and 2004.
For this complex study, the IIHS researchers made various adjustments to their risk analysis to account for factors such as determining how many vehicles with optional side air bags actually had them in place and differences in the types of driving behavior expected of people who are affluent enough or are safety-conscious enough to pay extra for optional air bags. Some previous research had assumed that most cars that offered side bags as an option had them, when in fact most did not.
Government figures indicate that in 2004, almost 5,000 front-seat occupants died in side impacts in vehicles without side air bags. The IIHS calculates that if all the vehicles involved in those crashes had head-and-torso air bag systems, more than 2,000 of those deaths would have been prevented.
The government doesn't require side air bags, yet more and more manufacturers have installed them voluntarily, encouraged by side-crash tests that routinely demonstrate their importance. An existing informal industry agreement should see all cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks fitted with side air bags as standard equipment by the 2010 model year, according to the IIHS. While side bags can provide a significant measure of protection, their presence alone does not ensure a high rating in side-impact crash protection, as has been demonstrated with the Hyundai Elantra, Kia Spectra, and Saturn Ion in past IIHS tests.
When shopping for a new or used vehicle, Consumer Reports recommends that you carefully consider the safety ratings and equipment. And specifically seek side air bags and electronic stability control. Further, we think that head-and-torso side air bag systems, the most effective type, should be mandatory standard equipment in all passenger vehicles.
As front-crash protection has improved in cars over the years, side crashes have emerged as the more lethal crash type. A car's ability to protect occupants in a side collision is limited compared with that in a frontal crash, because there isn't much room in side doors and body structure to crumple, absorb, or otherwise manage the impact forces. Side air bags can reduce those risks, deploying from a seat edge, door, or roof once crash sensors detect a serious collision. Head and torso (chest and abdomen) side bags are optional or standard in more than three-quarters of 2006 model-year cars and more than half the 2006 SUVs.
Years of crash testing by both the federal government and the IIHS have shown that side air bags make a big difference, but gathering real-world data to measure the actual death-prevention effectiveness of the bags has been a challenge.
To tally the averted deaths for this study, the IIHS reviewed the government's records of fatal side-impact crashes in cars and SUVs with and without side air bags. The study was limited to driver deaths only and to passenger cars and SUVs, and did not include pickups. The cars analyzed were 1997 to 2004 models involved in crashes that occurred from 1999 to 2004. The SUVs studied were 2001 to 2004 models that crashed between 2000 and 2004.
For this complex study, the IIHS researchers made various adjustments to their risk analysis to account for factors such as determining how many vehicles with optional side air bags actually had them in place and differences in the types of driving behavior expected of people who are affluent enough or are safety-conscious enough to pay extra for optional air bags. Some previous research had assumed that most cars that offered side bags as an option had them, when in fact most did not.
Government figures indicate that in 2004, almost 5,000 front-seat occupants died in side impacts in vehicles without side air bags. The IIHS calculates that if all the vehicles involved in those crashes had head-and-torso air bag systems, more than 2,000 of those deaths would have been prevented.
The government doesn't require side air bags, yet more and more manufacturers have installed them voluntarily, encouraged by side-crash tests that routinely demonstrate their importance. An existing informal industry agreement should see all cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks fitted with side air bags as standard equipment by the 2010 model year, according to the IIHS. While side bags can provide a significant measure of protection, their presence alone does not ensure a high rating in side-impact crash protection, as has been demonstrated with the Hyundai Elantra, Kia Spectra, and Saturn Ion in past IIHS tests.
When shopping for a new or used vehicle, Consumer Reports recommends that you carefully consider the safety ratings and equipment. And specifically seek side air bags and electronic stability control. Further, we think that head-and-torso side air bag systems, the most effective type, should be mandatory standard equipment in all passenger vehicles.
