Study questions safety of smarter airbags

Specialty Fabrics Review | July 2010

The newest “smart bag” airbag design, required in all vehicles since 2008, may not provide optimal protection for drivers wearing seatbelts, according to a study performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Drivers wearing seatbelts—an estimated 80 percent of drivers, according to federal figures—have a 21 percent increased risk of death in cars equipped with the latest airbag models versus cars with the earlier model. The current airbag systems are more complex, go through a series of assessments before deployment, and provide restraint force that may not be sufficient or may not work as well with updated car designs.

Comments

Comments are the opinion of individual posters and do not reflect the views of Specialty Fabrics Review or Industrial Fabrics Association International.

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  Dorsey Baker

  Jul 16, 2011
  5:02 pm CDT

  Airbag deployment

  Airbags, in my opinion, would be safer, if when the airbags deployed, the front seats would automatically move backward just enough to lessen the impact of the airbags coming in contact with the human body.