Abstract
It has been shown that driver fatalities in frontal collisions were reduced by 28% in airbag-equipped cars based on comparisons with similar cars equipped with manual lap/shoulder belts only (Zador and Ciccone, 1991). A similar finding was reported by the Department of Transportation that driver fatality rates in airbag equipped cars were reduced by 31% in purely frontal crashes (12:00 point of impact on the vehicle), and 19% in all frontal crashes (10:00 to 2:00). About 10% of drivers of vehicles with airbags involved in accidents received moderate to severe injuries. Most, if not all, of these people would have been more seriously injured or killed without the airbag. In a recent report to Congress, NHTSA estimated that airbags have saved 1,198 lives from 1987 through 1995, including 475 lives saved in 1995 alone.
