Citation

Ferguson SA, Reinfurt DW, Williams AF. J. Saf. Res. 1997; 28(1): 55-62.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, U.S. National Safety Council, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Passengers and drivers who were in crashes in which the passenger and driver airbags deployed were surveyed about their experiences. Overall, passengers and drivers were very positive about their experience, with the overwhelming majority reporting that they felt the airbags protected them from injury. Almost all of them said they would want airbags in their next car. Many respondents (about 20%) did not remember anything particular about the event, but for those that did, smoke and odor were reported most often; and about 15% of passengers and 10% of drivers reported trouble with breathing or coughing after the deployment. There were some differences in the experiences of passengers and drivers that may be related to differences in the way passengers and drivers interact with the airbag. For example, passengers were more likely to report that their eyeglasses were broken or knocked off as a result of the deployment, although no injuries were reported. When asked whether they were injured in the crash, passengers were more likely to report, mostly minor, facial injuries; drivers more often reported injuries to the upper extremities.