Comparing Occupant Injury in Vehicles Equipped with and without Frontal Airbag

Abstract

Most vehicle structures have been designed to withstand crash impact during an accident. The front area of the vehicle will crumple to absorb crash energy while the passenger compartment remains intact to protect the occupant inside. In addition, restraint system inclusive of airbag and seatbelts has been integrated in vehicles to further enhance the occupant's protection. However, in certain cases, the airbag is removed due to cost saving by car manufacturers. Although the frontal airbags have been removed, the structure remains the same. This can be observed from the crash tests conducted by ASEAN NCAP on two variants of the same car model which are fitted with and without airbags, where the cars obtained two different rating. This case study compares and presents occupant injuries for both variants.