SURVEY OF FRONT PASSENGER POSTURE USAGE IN PASSENGER VEHICLES. IN: AIR BAGS AND BELT RESTRAINTS

To enhance automobile safety, air bags have been a key component of the overall vehicle safety systems since the late '80s and early '90s. In 2002, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics indicated air bag deployments saved an estimated 1,500 lives. Reports of occupants having serious or fatal injuries during air bag deployments appear low relative to the number of accidents with air bag deployments. The objective of this study is to establish a list of sitting postures that an adult or a child front seat passenger may assume during a normal daily trip with an estimate of usage rate for each posture. This paper will provide information that should help to understand how front passengers sit during their normal daily trip.