Citation

Kuk M, Shkrum MJ. J. Forensic Sci. 2018; 63(3): 728-734.

Affiliation

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London Health Sciences Centre, 339 Windermere Rd., London, Ontario, N6A 5A5, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/1556-4029.13637

PMID

28921600

Abstract

The Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario database for 2011-2012 was used to compare fatal injury patterns in drivers whose third-generation airbags deployed compared to first- and second-generation airbag deployments and airbag nondeployments with and without seatbelt use. There were 110 frontal and offset frontal crashes analyzed. The small sample size meant that the odds of craniocerebral, cervical spinal, thoracic, and abdominal injuries were not statistically different for airbag generation, deployment status, and seatbelt use; however, the risk of fatal thoracic injuries in third- and second-generation cases was increased. Seatbelt usage in third- and second-generation deployment cases reduced the risk of all injuries except abdominal trauma. High severity impacts and occupant compartment intrusion were frequently observed. The analyses in this retrospective study were challenged by data that were not collated in a standardized way and were limited in details about scene, vehicle, and driver variables.

© 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Language: en

Keywords

airbags; drivers; fatalities; forensic pathology; forensic science; injury patterns