Articles of Interest

Less powerful airbags reduce passenger deaths and injuries

Most new vehicles on the road have much less powerful airbags than new cars did a few years ago and that is resulting in fewer deaths and serious injuries from the devices, safety regulators say...

Read more.

The China Post. Thursday, October 28, 1999
By Catherine Strong. Associated Press.

Most new vehicles on the road have much less powerful airbags than new cars did a few years ago and that is resulting in fewer deaths and serious injuries from the devices, safety regulators say.

The report Tuesday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is the first to detail how the design of airbags has changed during the '90s among eight top automakers representing more than 90 percent of vehicles sold in the United States.

The report says the redesigned airbags, which were tested by the agency, pose less risk of death or serious injury to passengers. And the agency said real-world crash data also confirm the design changes are leading to fewer deaths from the safety devices, particularly among adults.

"It is clear that airbags in recent model year 1998 and 1999 vehicles are less aggressive than the pre-model year 1998 airbags ," the agency concludes.

Starting with the 1998 model year, many auto makers said they were installing car airbags with at least 20% less force.

The safety agency found that about half of vehicles from model 1998 and 1999 have driver and passenger airbags with a lower inflation force. The change was in response to a public outcry over deaths in low-speed crashes blamed on airbags.

The safety agency found that about half of vehicles from model years 1998 and 1999 have driver and passenger airbags with a lower inflation force. The speed of inflation decreased about 22 percent on average for driver airbags and 14 percent for passenger airbags for the 1998 and 1999 models, the report says.

There also have been other design changes. For instance, nearly half of the newer vehicles have driver airbags that are more recessed into the steering wheel so that they inflate further away from the driver.

The manufacturers reviewed were General Motors, Ford, Daimler Chrysler, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Volkswagen and Volvo.

The agency did not single out manufacturers by name, claiming much of the data submitted were confidential and proprietary. Some safety groups objected to that.

"We wanted the information by make and model so the public could use the information for their own protection and safety," said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen.

Since 1990, airbags have been blamed for 146 deaths, mostly among unrestrained or improperly restrained children and shorter women, according to agency data.

Hide this article.

U.S. firm's new electronic chips could cut airbag costs to $100

Air bags currently run as high as $600 a piece. Analog Devices Inc., a manufacturer of integrated circuit, said its new accelerometer would replace the many sensors and much of the extensive wiring that airbags currently employ...

Read more.

NORWOOD, Mass. (Reuters)

A Massachusetts company says it has developed a new and inexpensive electronic chip that could cut the cost of an automobile airbag to no more than $100 (U.S.).

Air bags currently run as high as $600 a piece. Analog Devices Inc., a manufacturer of integrated circuit, said its new accelerometer would replace the many sensors and much of the extensive wiring that airbags currently employ. The chip would cost about $5, the company said.

Current airbags systems add between $400 and $600 to the cost of an automobile, but with Analogs new chip, the cost of the device would increase the sticker price by no more than $100, Analog said.

U.S. law requires new cars to include some form of passive restraint, either an airbag or automatic seat belt, on the driver's side. Passive restraints will be required by law for both front-seat passengers beginning in 1994.

By 1995, demand for airbag sensors should exceed 20 million units, said Analog's director for automotive and sensors product group, Richard Payne.

Hide this content.

Airbag Filtration System

Saffil alumina fibers, manufactured by ICI Chemicals & Polymers LTD., have been developed to serve as a cost-effective airbag filtration system...

Read more.

Products Briefs
Body Shop Article#7.

Saffil alumina fibers, manufactured by ICI Chemicals & Polymers LTD., have been developed to serve as a cost-effective airbag filtration system. The dominant gas generant used in airbag systems is based on sodium azide. Ignition of this pyrotechnic propellant produces hot nitrogen gas which also carries alkaline slag and particulate matter containing sodium. To protect the driver and the passenger, this material must be filtered out within the 50 ms taken for an airbag to inflate. This high-purity, polycrystalline aluminum oxide fiber exhibits excellent thermal and structural stability, together with an ability to react selectively with metal and metal oxide contamination in the gas stream. Saffil's unique spinning process enable the fiber diameter distribution, and hence the gas permeability, to be controlled. The product is also used as a monolithic support for automotive catalytic converters, and as a reinforcement in metal matrix composites.

Hide this article.

Side airbags would need ESP

With the popular installation of airbags to reduce the effects of front-end collisions, it's not surprising that people are imagining airbags in other positions...

Read more.

With the popular installation of airbags to reduce the effects of front-end collisions, it's not surprising that people are imagining airbags in other positions.

The problems of side impacts is acute, so several carmakers are investigating door airbags, including Mercedes-Benz.

But Mercedes-Benz, a perennial safety leader, believes door bags are not a technology that will be turning up soon, if at all. For one thing, they may need extrasensory perception (ESP).

According to Dieter Scarf, marketing manager of Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc., "door airbag development is in its pioneering stage and is considered just one of several choices for increased protection in a side collision."

Scharf says the door bag of the future will probably require an entirely new and complex technology for sensing a side impact before it actually occurs.

Pre-crash sensing is needed, he says, because "there is much less cushioning body structure available in a side collision than in a frontal collision, as the front of the car offers a much larger crumple zone."

Consequently, with much less time to sense and trigger a side airbag, Scharf says, "the door bag would need to inflate much faster, perhaps even a split second before the actual impact."

Mercedes-Benz engineers are looking at sophisticated proximity sensors, "perhaps using radar or infrared technology. However, the new system must be reliable while avoiding being triggered by a passing bicycle or close parking maneuvers."

Even with all that work door bags might not be the answer.

Hide this article.

Airbags can be lethal, doc says

An airbag can save a life in a high-speed car crash, but if drivers or passengers sit or lean the wrong way, the inflating bag can break bones and even kill...

Read more.

The Toronto Star
September 14, 1995

WASHINGTON (AP) -

An airbag can save a life in a high-speed car crash, but if drivers or passengers sit or lean the wrong way, the inflating bag can break bones and even kill.

Emergency room and more physicians say they are seeing more and more people with minor injuries caused when auto airbags inflate in low speed crashes.

Most injuries are minor, said Dr. Gregory Larkin of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, but they could be avoided if people were more aware of the dynamics of the airbag.

"People should sit with their head and face no closer than 10 inches from the airbag," Larkin, an emergency room doctor, told the American College of Emergency Physicians. "When airbags deploy, they fly out at a speed of more than 100 miles an hour and can cause damage."

Air bags can be lethal for babies riding in rear-facing infant seats in the front passenger seat. The inflating airbag will throw the tot backward and the seat will then fling them forward.

Hide this article.

Auto Fraud in the Fast Lane (pdf)

A publication from The Insurance Bureau of Canada regarding auto insurance fraud being on the rise.

Read more.

Download Auto Fraud in the Fast Lane (pdf)

Adobe Reader® is required to view this publication.

Hide this article.

Injury Impact Statement (pdf)

A publication from The Insurance Bureau of Canada regarding the impact of fraudulent personal injury claims.

Read more.

Download Injury Impact Statement - Nov. 17, 2004 (pdf)

Adobe Reader® is required to view this publication.

Hide this article.