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Airbag Fatalities More Likely for Motorists Wearing Seatbelts

They are two of the most important safety inventions of the century. There is no doubt that seat belts and airbags help prevent thousands of deaths in auto accidents every year. However according to a study, the new design airbags may be doing a much poorer job of protecting occupants who were wearing seat belts during an accident. Airbag fatalities are tragic, especially when we trust them to protect us.

The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety came upon the starting revelations as it looked at the latest design airbags, which have been around since around 2004, and have become the mandatory standard for airbags since 2008. The study came up with some interesting results. The researchers found that these airbags could actually place drivers wearing seat belts at the time of an accident at a higher risk of death in the crash, compared to people who were not wearing seat belts.

The researchers analyzed 3,600 auto accident deaths. These deaths occurred in front impact accidents between 2004 and 2007. The study showed that while the new design of airbags helped protect people not wearing seat belts better than the older airbags did, they did a much shoddier job of protecting people who were wearing seat belts at the time of the accident. In fact, people who were not wearing seat belts were as much as 21% more likely to die in an accident, if the car had the latest airbags.

The researchers have no clue as to why this is so, but there are quite a few theories… The biggest theory seems to be that auto companies are required to test airbags on dummies not wearing seat belts, which means that they are also designing airbags for people not wearing seat belts. This is in spite of the fact that seat belt usage is at record levels around the country, hovering at about 84% nationwide, and up to 96% in some states.

Obviously, these results indicate to California accident lawyers that federal agencies need to reconsider how they require automakers to test airbags. Testing on an “unbelted” dummy seems to create poor design standards that are not useful for drivers and front seat passengers who are wearing seat belts. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has met with researchers and automakers, and has noted the results of the study, but representatives have not indicated whether they intend to change testing methodologies. It is likely that more research will be conducted before any decisions are made.

The safety of seat belts and airbags was also in question earlier this month in a study which showed that obese drivers and excessively thin drivers seem to be at higher risk of death even when they were wearing seat belts. The researchers compared death rates for obese and thin drivers, and found that obese motorists have a 14% lesser chance of dying in an accident while wearing seat belts, compared to persons of normal weight. However, they had a much higher chances of suffering airbag fatalities when they were not wearing seat belts. Similar, but not as conclusive results, were seen in the case of thin female motorists.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of car accidents and airbag failures. Please visit our website at http://www.robertreeveslaw.com/. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us at contact@robertreeveslaw.com.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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