NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A new study confirms that newer
airbags designed to be less hazardous to children and small
adults are indeed safer for young children, without putting
adults at greater risk.
The first generation of air bags, built to protect an
average-size male, “have been lethal for children and adults in
some crashes,” Dr. Carin M. Olson of the University of
Washington in Seattle and her colleagues note in the July 15
issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Second-generation air bags developed to deal with this
problem were included in most cars built in 1998 and nearly all
passenger cars of subsequent model years, they add. These air
bags include depowered air bags, which inflate with less force,
and advanced air bags.
Concerns have been raised that depowered air bags could be
unsafe for larger people, and may “represent a tradeoff between
decreasing the risk of death for some occupants and increasing
the risk for others, such as unrestrained adults,” the
researchers note.
To investigate, Olson and her team analyzed data from fatal
accidents occurring between 1990 and 2002 involving passenger
cars of model years 1987 to 2003, including a total of 151,297
people and 62,333 cars. Second-generation airbags were
installed in most autos of model year 1998 and in all in later
years.
Overall, compared to no air bags, first-generation air bags
reduced the risk of a front-seat occupant’s death within 30
days of a crash by 10%, while second-generation air bags
reduced the risk by 11%, the researchers found.
For children under age 6, first-generation airbags
increased the risk of death by 66% compared to no air bags.
There was a 10% increased risk of death among young children
with the second-generation air bags compared to no air bag,
which was not statistically significant.
There was also no evidence that second-generation air bags
were less safe than first-generation air bags for any subgroup
of car occupants, including men not wearing seatbelts, the
researchers note.
They conclude: “Consumers, policy makers and manufacturers
can be assured that the increased safety of second-generation
air bags for children was not offset by less protection for
older occupants.”
SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, July 15, 2006.
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