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Automobile insurance claims of two popular midsize cars with different air bag deployment frequencies -- the Dodge/Plymouth Neon and Honda Civic -- were examined to determine performance in higher severity crashes (the upper 30 percent of crashes ranked by adjusted repair cost). Previously, it was found that drivers sustained more, mainly minor, injuries in the Neon which had a higher deployment frequency in low speed crashes. This study examined, for these two cars, whether there was any trade-off associated with a higher deployment threshold. It was found that even at higher speeds, the Neon had a greater frequency of air bag deployments, which in turn resulted in a greater likelihood of driver injury. Once again upper extremity injuries were most prevalent for Neon drivers and were highest for female drivers. At the same time, there was little evidence that driver protection was compromised in the Civic in the more important high speed crashes.

Automobile insurance claims were examined to determine the air bag deployment frequencies of cars with significant frontal crash damage. Air bag deployment frequencies were found to vary greatly by car model. Two popular midsize cars -- the Dodge Neon and Honda Civic -- were studied in detail to better understand the differences in the performance of different air bag systems in low severity crashes (delta V ≤ 15 mph). The Neon had a greater frequency of low speed air bag deployments than the Civic, which in turn resulted in a greater likelihood of air bag-induced minor injuries, in particular upper extremity injuries for females. Differences in air bag leading edge speed and excursion distance may also contribute to the different likelihood of injuries.

In May, 1989, State Farm began to collect field data on crashes involving airbag deployments. The data include crash configurations and locations, driver actions, deployment thresholds and rates, repair cost contributions, and injury profiles. The effectiveness of airbags in reducing injuries is described, including efforts by one manufacturer to reduce abrasion and contusion injuries, which are among the most common minor injuries in airbag deployments. Analysis shows that airbag systems are working as intended; that is, in frontal crashes where moderate to severe injuries to the face and torso would otherwise be likely.

In 1975, plastics represented about three percent of a car's curb weight. By 1981, the figure had risen to seven percent, or about 200 pounds. Total plastic weight for 1985 cars averages 240 pounds (1)*. Some industry executives project a total of about 280 to 290 pounds in 1990 models, or about ten percent weight content. The increasing use of plastic components in the manufacture of automobiles has resulted in new approaches to collision damage repair. The average new vehicle will be involved in one insurance-reported accident, having crash part damage, every 6.7 years. A NHTSA study estimates that over 90 percent of all car owners have some form of motor vehicle insurance which pays 70 percent of the $20.6 billion in annual societal property damage cost (2). The increasing use of plastics for exterior body panel applications results in greater numbers of vehicle repairs that will require repair or replacement of damaged plastic crash parts.

Car-to-car accidents account for a large proportion of the accident environment and societal cost to repair vehicle crash damage. Automobile insurers pay for most of these repair costs. Insurers, on behalf of their policyholders, have an enormous interest in those factors which affect the cost of repair. Use of computerized auto collision repair estimating allows insurance companies to capture statistical repair cost and crash part involvement information electronically and relate it to vehicle damage. Analyses are described for using computerized repair estimate data to describe the two-car accident environment. Analyses include the determination of the most common impact direction configurations and their relative repair costs, the most common market class combinations and their relative repair costs, and the distribution of repair cost expenditures for long wheelbase cars impacting shorter wheelbase cars.