A GM analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System database (NHTSA FARS) found that interior deaths cause by far-side impact crashes or lateral crashes accounted for 11% of the belted front-occupant fatalities in non-rollover accidents between 2004 and 2009.
Also implied in the interior deaths GM studied is that much more work remains to be done from a design point of view. Problems include safety belts that don’t hold an occupant laterally. There are also the now ubiquitous center consoles and sharply defined cockpits that are causing serious and fatal injuries, as well as the seat itself, which allows deadly lateral movement.
With intense engineering, some of these interior deaths could be mitigated by passive solutions. This could be far less expensive than adding another airbag system to every new vehicle. It is worth intense study because explosive devices, as Takata conclusively proved, can go off at the wrong time with deadly consequences.
See also AutoInformed – Hyundai Interseat Airbag Reduces Head Injuries 80%
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
