Editing Airbag (section)

== Injuries and fatalities ==
[[File:Lives Saved by Safety Belts and Air Bags, NHTSA, DOT.svg|thumb|Lives saved by [[seat belt]]s and airbags in the United States of America over 10 years]]

Under some rare conditions, airbags can injure and in some very rare instances kill vehicle occupants. To provide crash protection for occupants not wearing seat belts, United States airbag designs trigger much more forcefully than airbags designed to the international ECE standards used in most other countries. Recent "smart" airbag controllers can recognize if a seat belt is used, and alter the airbag cushion deployment parameters accordingly.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/rulings/AAirBagSNPRM/#snprm7 |title=NHTSA 49 CFR Parts 552, 571, 585, and 595, Docket Notice |work=NHTSA |date=1 December 2000 |access-date=16 March 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140316225152/http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/rulings/AAirBagSNPRM/ |archive-date=16 March 2014}}</ref>

In 1990, the first automotive fatality attributed to an airbag was reported.<ref name="NHTSAAirBag">{{cite web|url= http://www.nsc.org/partners/status3.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080226234316/http://www.nsc.org/partners/status3.htm |archive-date=26 February 2008 |title=Statistical Breakdown of Air Bag Fatalities |publisher=National Highway Traffic Safety Administration |access-date=16 March 2014}}</ref> [[TRW Inc.|TRW]] produced the first gas-inflated airbag in 1994, with sensors and low inflation-force bags becoming common soon afterward. Dual-depth (also known as dual-stage) airbags appeared on passenger cars in 1998. By 2005, deaths related to airbags had declined, with no adult deaths and two child deaths attributed to airbags that year. However, injuries remain fairly common in collisions with airbag deployment.

Serious injuries are less common, but severe or fatal injuries can occur to vehicle occupants very near an airbag or in direct contact when it deploys. Such injuries may be sustained by unconscious drivers slumped over the steering wheel, unrestrained or improperly restrained occupants who slide forward in the seat during precrash braking, and properly belted drivers sitting very close to the steering wheel. A good reason for the driver not to cross hands over the steering wheel, a rule taught to most learner drivers, but quickly forgotten by most, is that an airbag deployment while negotiating a turn may result in the driver's hand(s) being driven forcefully into his or her face, exacerbating any injuries from the airbag alone.

A US study showed that the risk for a serious [[head injury]] occurring is 5.495% while travelling {{cvt|25-30|mph|0|order=flip}}. The risk is reduced for passengers to 4.435%. This risk is lowered by 80.5% to 1.073% when using an airbag. The risk for passengers is lowered by 82% to 0.797%. The tests with the airbags were done at {{cvt|35|mph|0|order=flip}}, {{cvt|5-10|mph|0|order=flip}} faster than the tests without air bags. There is a 15.45% risk of serious injury to unprotected occupants at {{cvt|30-35|mph|0|order=flip}}, this drops to 4.68% with protected occupants. This is a 69.7% decrease in change of serious injury, with the airbags deploying 96.1% of the time.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Viano |first=David C. |date=2024-04-02 |title=History of airbag safety benefits and risks |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15389588.2024.2315889 |journal=Traffic Injury Prevention |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=268–287 |doi=10.1080/15389588.2024.2315889 |issn=1538-9588 |pmid=38408114}}</ref>

Improvements in sensing and gas-generator technology have allowed the development of third-generation airbag systems that can adjust their deployment parameters to the size, weight, position, and restraint status of the occupant. These improvements have demonstrated a reduced injury risk factor for small adults and children, who had an increased risk of injury with first-generation airbag systems.<ref>{{Cite journal |journal=American Journal of Epidemiology |title=Association of First- and Second-Generation Airbags with Front Occupant Death in Car Crashes: A Matched Cohort Study |first1=Carin M. |last1=Olson |first2=Peter |last2=Cummings |first3=Frederick P. |last3=Rivara |volume=164 |issue=2|pages=161–9|doi=10.1093/aje/kwj167 |pmid=16775043 |year=2006 }}</ref>

One model of airbags made by the [[Takata Corporation]] used [[ammonium nitrate]]–based gas-generating compositions in airbag inflators instead of the more stable, but more expensive compound [[tetrazole]]. The ammonium nitrate-based inflators have a flaw where old inflators with long-term exposure to hot and humid climate conditions could rupture during deployment, projecting metal shards through the airbag and into the driver.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://icsw.nhtsa.gov/safercar/rs/takata/takata-presscon110315.html |title=NHTSA Recalls Spotlight – Takata Air Bag Recalls – November 3, 2015 Press Conference |work=nhtsa.gov |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160102080537/http://icsw.nhtsa.gov/safercar/rs/takata/takata-presscon110315.html |archive-date=2 January 2016}}</ref> As of December 2022, the defect has caused 33 deaths worldwide, with up to 24 in the U.S. and the remaining in Australia and Malaysia.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/business-takata-corp-government-and-politics-53787c88a25cac65fe678c3b06db8c5c|title=US reports another Takata air bag death, bringing toll to 33|first=Tom|last=Krishner|date=December 9, 2022|work=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> The [[National Highway Traffic Safety Administration]] (NHTSA) recalled over 33 million vehicles in May 2015,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/may/19/takata-air-bag-defect-largest-auto-recall-us-history |title=Air bag defect to trigger largest auto recall in US history |access-date=10 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160808091220/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/may/19/takata-air-bag-defect-largest-auto-recall-us-history |archive-date=8 August 2016 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=19 May 2015 |last1=Rushe |first1=Dominic}}</ref> and fined Takata $70 million in November 2015.<ref>{{cite news|title=Takata fined $70 million for defective airbags as recalls nearly double |url= https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-takata-airbags-20151103-story.html |newspaper=LA Times |access-date=3 November 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151103215651/http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-takata-airbags-20151103-story.html |archive-date=3 November 2015}}</ref> Toyota, Mazda, and Honda have said that they will not use ammonium-nitrate inflators.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://fortune.com/2015/11/06/takatas-woes-are-complete-now-toyota-has-dropped-it/ |title=Takata's Woes Are Complete: Now Toyota Has Dropped It |work=Fortune |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151109005934/http://fortune.com/2015/11/06/takatas-woes-are-complete-now-toyota-has-dropped-it/ |archive-date=9 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://bigstory.ap.org/article/a59ec1a2350b40a5bbddfde18399d7e1/japan-air-bag-maker-takata-reports-46-million-loss |title=Japan air bag maker Takata reports $46 million loss |work=The Big Story |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160102080537/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/a59ec1a2350b40a5bbddfde18399d7e1/japan-air-bag-maker-takata-reports-46-million-loss |archive-date=2 January 2016}}</ref> In June 2017, Takata filed for bankruptcy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/06/25/news/companies/takata-bankruptcy/index.html|title=Takata, brought down by airbag crisis, files for bankruptcy|date=25 June 2017|publisher=CNN}}</ref>

=== Airbag fatality statistics ===
From 1990 to 2000, the United States NHTSA identified 175 fatalities caused by airbags. Most of these (104) have been children. About 3.3 million airbag deployments have occurred during that interval, and the agency estimates more than 6,377 lives were saved and countless injuries were prevented.<ref name="NHTSAAirBag" /><ref name=BohrAAA2>The statement "they've saved some 26,000 lives, according to estimates from the ... (NHTSA)" has been published. {{Citation| last = Bohr | first = Peter |date=July–August 2010 |title=Air Time |periodical=AAA World |volume=12 |issue=4 |page=24}}</ref>

A rear-facing infant restraint put in the front seat of a vehicle places an infant's head close to the airbag, which can cause severe [[head injury|head injuries]] or death if the airbag deploys. Some modern cars include a switch to disable the front-passenger airbag, in case a child-supporting seat is used there (although not in Australia, where rear-facing child seats are prohibited in the front where an airbag is fitted).

In vehicles with side airbags, it is dangerous for occupants to lean against the windows, doors, and pillars, or to place objects between themselves and the side of the vehicle. Articles hung from a vehicle's clothes hanger hooks can be hazardous if the vehicle's side-curtain airbags are deployed.<ref>Toyota Aurion: User Manual 2006 model – Australia</ref> A seat-mounted airbag may also cause internal injury if the occupant leans against the door.<ref>{{cite journal |pmid=20184829 |volume=53 |title=Splenic trauma as an adverse effect of torso-protecting side airbags: biomechanical and case evidence |date=Oct 2009 | journal=Ann Adv Automot Med |pages=13–24 |pmc=3256804 |last1=Hallman |first1=J.J. |last2=Brasel |first2=K.J. |last3=Yoganandan |first3=N. |last4=Pintar |first4=F.A.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |pmid=21512911 |volume=54 |title=Biomechanical and injury response to posterolateral loading from torso side airbags |date=November 2010 |journal=Stapp Car Crash J |pages=227–57 |pmc=3820120 |last1=Hallman |first1=J.J. |last2=Yoganandan |first2=N. |last3=Pintar |first3=F.A. |series=SAE Technical Paper Series |doi=10.4271/2010-22-0012 }}</ref>