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November 30, 2006

COMMENTS SOUGHT ON AIRBAG EFFECTIVENESS STUDY

NHTSA is seeking comments on its current report analyzing changes it has made to decrease the likelihood of inadvertent injury from airbag deployment. The study,
“Safety Standard 208, Occupant Crash Protection – An Evaluation of the 1998-1999 Redesign of Frontal Air Bags,” is available at http://dms.dot.gov. Click on “Simple Search”; type in the five-digit Docket number 26486 and click on “Search”; that brings up a list of every item in the docket, starting with a copy of this Federal Register notice (item NHTSA-2006-26486-1) and a copy of the report in PDF format (item NHTSA-2006-26486-2).

In summarizing the study’s findings, NHTSA refers to airbag systems meeting its revised standard as “sled-certified,” a definition explained in detail in the report, and concludes:

The overall fatality risk in frontal crashes of 0-12 year-old child passengers in the front seat is a statistically significant 45 percent lower with sled-certified air bags than with first-generation air bags; fatalities caused by air bags in low-speed crashes were reduced by 83 percent. The overall fatality risk of drivers and of right-front passengers age 13 and older in frontal crashes is not significantly different with sled-certified air bags than with first-generation air bags; sled-certified air bags preserved the life-saving benefits of first-generation air bags.

Posted by MVHAP at November 30, 2006 07:42 PM