Seat belts offer more protection than air bags

iver air bags offer relatively little benefit in road vehicle crashes compared with seat belts, finds a study in this week’s BMJ.

Researchers in the United States identified all passenger vehicles that crashed during 1990-2000 in which the driver or passenger, or both, died. A sample of 51,031 driver-passenger pairs was analysed to estimate the association of driver air bags with driver fatality.

Having an air bag was associated with an 8% reduction in the risk of death, whether the driver was belted or not. The reduction in risk was greater for women (12%) than for men (6%).

However, seat belts provided much greater protection, with seat belt use reducing the risk of death by 65%. Using a seat belt and having an air bag reduced the risk of death by 68%.

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This field deals with all spatial and time-related activities involved in bridging the gap between goods and people, including their restructuring. This begins with the supplier and follows each stage of the operational value chain to product delivery and concludes with product disposal and recycling.

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