Sufficiency of Stationary Occupant Surrogates for Evaluating Torso Side Airbag Out-of-Position Injury

Because over 50% of belted occupants sustain injury to the thorax in nearside motor vehicle crashes [1], torso side airbags are relevant to reducing injury risk in lateral impact. Although airbags are designed to mitigate injury, out-of-position (OOP) scenarios can result if occupant location deviates from that anticipated in airbag design specifications. This is particularly important to side airbags (SABs), which must inflate considerably faster than frontal airbags to offset minimal crush space without causing harm in OOP conditions.