Automobile driver fatalities in frontal impacts: air bags compared with manual belts.

The effect of frontal air bags on eye injury patterns in automobile crashes.

OBJECTIVE To investigate eye injuries resulting from frontal automobile crashes and to determine the effects of frontal air bags. METHODS The National Automotive Sampling System database files from January 1, 1993, through December 31, 1999, were examined in a 3-part study that included an investigation of 22 236 individual crashes that occurred in the United States. A new 4-level eye injury ...

Association of driver air bags with driver fatality: a matched cohort study.

OBJECTIVE To estimate the association of driver air bag presence with driver fatality in road traffic crashes. DESIGN Matched pair cohort study. SETTING All passenger vehicle crashes in the United States during 1990-2000 inclusive. SUBJECTS 51 031 driver-passenger pairs in the same vehicle. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Relative risk of death within 30 days of a crash. RESULTS Drivers with an...

Efficacy of side air bags in reducing driver deaths in driver-side collisions.

Side air bags, a relatively new technology designed to protect the head and/or torso in side-impact collisions, are becoming increasingly common in automobiles. Their efficacy in preventing US driver deaths among cars struck on the near (driver's) side was examined using data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the General Estimates System. Risk ratios for driver death per nearside ...

Do seat belts and air bags reduce mortality and injury severity after car accidents?

We studied National Trauma Data Bank data to determine the effectiveness of car safety devices in reducing mortality and injury severity in 184,992 patients between 1988 and 2004. Safety device variables were seat belt used plus air bag deployed; only seat belt used; only air bag deployed; and, as explicitly coded, no device used. Overall mortality was 4.17%. Compared with the no-device group, ...

Uncertain Air Quality Impacts of Automobile Retirement Programs