Monash Study Reveals That Holden Airbags Dramatically Reduce Driver Injuries

Latest results of a long-term accident research program show that Holden Commodore driver airbags have dramatically reduced the incidence of serious head, face, neck and chest injuries.

The Monash university Accident Research Centre (MUARC) found that driver airbag deployment reduced head injury Harm by 75 per cent, facial injury Harm by 51 per cent, neck injury Harm by 70 per cent and chest injury harm by 47 per cent.

The nine year crash investigation field study carried out by MUARC on Holden’s behalf compared the results of 155 frontal collisions involving airbag-equipped and non airbag-equipped Commodores built between 1988 and 1999.

In reaching its conclusions, MUARC used a Harm assessment that takes into account the combined value of hospital and rehabilitation costs, lost income and lost quality of life resulting from long-term and irrecoverable injury. It found that for every frontal crash where a Holden airbag deploys, the driver avoids, on average, $18,000 of Harm.

Holden’s Chief Engineer Advanced Engineering, Dr Laurie Sparke, led the team responsible for the development of the driver airbag, introduced with the VR Commodore in 1993.

He says the research findings continue to validate the company’s decision to place a major focus on preventing head and neck injury and to fit an airbag system designed specifically for Australian conditions.

“While we weren’t surprised at the outcome, it’s pleasing to have such conclusive proof that the Holden airbag performs its intended task so effectively,” Dr Sparke said.

“When you consider that head injury accounts for 70 per cent of road fatalities and that a large proportion of brain-injured survivors never fully recover, the airbag is making a significant societal contribution by reducing risks to such an extent.

“I’d go so far as to say that our system performs better than most competitor’s, but the fact is that few other manufacturers, and none locally, undertake this kind of intensive research,” he said.

The Holden airbag meets world’s best practice in ’soft’, non-aggressive inflation onset. It has a unique E-fold pattern and interior tethers that make it inflate with a flat surface, eliminating any neck injury risk.

“Importantly, the system recognises that, in a crash, car occupants will have differing protection requirements, depending on their age, size and sex. A crash that bruises a 20 year-old can be life threatening to a 60 year-old, because we become more fragile as we age. Small people face bigger risks, and females are 50 per cent more likely to suffer neck injuries,” Dr Sparke continued.

“That’s why we developed our restraint system with the help of a computer optimising process which takes all of these factors – balanced against other vital criteria – into account.”

Crash investigation procedure Since the Holden/MUARC field accident research program began, more than 520 cases, covering a wide range of crash types and vehicle models, have been investigated. This ongoing program is producing a substantial amount of data on actual collisions and injury outcomes in Australia, where formerly the majority of available data was based on US research.

MUARC actively enlists the help of tow truck and panel shop operators to notify them of collisions involving Holden vehicles which meet researchers’ criteria, and MUARC investigators routinely visit salvage yards in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane to identify and examine written-off vehicles prior to their auction or destruction.

Once an owner’s consent is received, the MUARC crash investigation team makes a detailed inspection of the damaged vehicle – and if the collision involved another vehicle, it too is located and inspected to more accurately assess the crash severity

The extensive amount of information collected includes the type, location and severity of impact, impact and intrusion measurements, restraint system details, comprehensive sketches and a full photographic record.

Investigators visit the crash scene, photograph the surrounds and collect further information on road details (class, number of lanes, topography), lighting conditions, traffic controls, etcetera.

Research nurses also conduct interviews with vehicle occupants. When significant injury has been caused or medical verification is required, the patient medical records are requested from the treating hospital. If a fatality has occurred, the National Coronial Information System database is accessed for an autopsy report.

The team meets to review each case, using a ‘best evidence synthesis’ approach to finalise information on crash circumstances and causes of injury. All personally identifying information is removed and the case is entered into the MUARC database.

Analysis of the information gathered about these crashes – how frequent they are, how severe they are, precisely what injuries are caused and what long-term effects they have – allows Holden to identify priorities and develop further injury reduction strategies.