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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.