Side air bags could save lives

Driver deaths in side-impact collisions dropped by more than half in sport utility vehicles equipped with head-protecting side air bags, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Side air bags offering head protection could save the lives of about 2,000 drivers a year if every vehicle on the road had the equipment, IIHS estimated.

While the benefits for SUVs with head-protecting air bags were higher, the study found the risk of death dropped 30 percent in side collisions involving SUVs with side air bags that only offer protection to the chest and abdomen.

In passenger cars struck on the driver’s side, the risk of a driver being killed declined 37 percent in vehicles with side air bags offering head protection, and fell 26 percent for cars with side air bags providing chest and abdomen protection.

First introduced on vehicles in the mid-1990s, side air bags are credited with helping motorists escape serious injuries and death when struck along the vehicle’s doors. While a head-on crash allows the vehicle’s front-end structure to absorb much of the impact, there’s little protection for a motorist struck in the side without the air bags.

Side-impact crashes continue to be a concern for auto safety advocates. In 2004, the government estimated that 9,270 people were killed in side crashes, accounting for nearly 30 percent of all traffic deaths.

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