Automobile air bags designed for the American market are not necessarily
appropriate for Canadian drivers, says a UBC researcher who has
been studying air bag accidents for nearly four years.
Mechanical Engineering Assoc. Prof. Douglas P. Romilly, co-ordinator
of UBC’s Road Safety Research Group, says current air bag restraint
systems in vehicles sold in Canada are designed to match American
driver behaviour and need to be adapted for use in Canada where
a far higher percentage of drivers wear seat belts.
His research group is currently involved in gathering and analyzing
vehicle accident data and performing experimental research related
to air bag effectiveness. The group’s work is part of a nationwide
effort sponsored by Transport Canada to improve vehicle safety.
“In the United States between 20 to 70 per cent of drivers might
be belted, depending on the state. In Canada, it’s more like 93
per cent of the driver population,” Romilly says.
“The reason for the difference is a combination of factors including
better driver attitude, good seat-belt legislation combined with
police enforcement, and reduced court settlements for unbelted occupants
involved in vehicle accidents — all of which leads to enhanced
safety on the road.”
Injuries sustained by drivers and passengers when air bags deploy
during low impact collisions — at speeds as low as 15 kilometres
per hour in some cases — have caught the attention of Canadian
manufacturers. Unlike the United States, Canada does not currently
have regulations or requirements regarding air bags. When air bag
related injuries occur in Canada, manufacturers can find themselves
held liable, while in the U.S. they can point to government regulations
requiring air bags.
UBC’s Road Safety Research Group, which includes Romilly and three
full-time investigators, Mike Macnabb, Roy Klymchuk and Stephen
Ribarits, is working in conjunction with seven similar research
teams across the country and Transport Canada to determine how air
bags need to be adapted for Canadian drivers and what requirements,
if any, should be imposed on the industry.
The research teams’ initial findings, following study of about
500 accidents in which air bags were deployed, indicate that both
the impact threshold for triggering the air bag restraint system
should be raised and that the air bags should inflate with less
force. Current air bags can deploy at speeds up to 300 kilometres
per hour.
The group would also like to see the development of smart air bags
which would only deploy if the seat position they protect is occupied.
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