Trauma encompasses a wide variety of insults to the body ranging from motor vehicle accidents, interpersonal violence, falls from great heights, contact sports, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and industrial accidents. Trauma accounts for 10% of deaths among men and women, and is the leading cause of death for those younger than the age of 40 years. Thoracic trauma comprises 10%-15% of all traumas.1 It directly accounts for approximately 25% of trauma-related mortality and is a contributing factor in another 25%.2 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) states that in 2011, 21,253 occupants of passenger vehicles died in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Of the 21,253 total occupants killed, 44% (9439) were restrained and 56% were unrestrained at the time of the crash. It is estimated that as of 2011, 194 million air-bag-equipped passenger vehicles were on the road.
Airbags are safety devices that are constructed of fabric and are deployed by electronic control that triggers a chemical agent that inflates the device. According to NHTSA and many studies, airbags saved thousands of lives since their introduction in the early …show more content…
The NHTSA states that in 2011, an estimated 2204 lives were saved by the use of frontal airbags, and from 1987 to 2011, a total of 34,757 lives were saved. The NHTSA estimates that as of June 2003, 231 people (144 children and 87 adults) have lost their lives because of airbags and many airbag-related injuries have been reported. Despite the fact that airbags are considered to be life-saving and their use has significantly reduced the fatality rate associated with high-speed collisions, airbag deployment alone has recently been implicated as a cause of clinically significant thoracic injury to unrestrained
Airbags are safety devices that are constructed of fabric and are deployed by electronic control that triggers a chemical agent that inflates the device. According to NHTSA and many studies, airbags saved thousands of lives since their introduction in the early …show more content…
The NHTSA states that in 2011, an estimated 2204 lives were saved by the use of frontal airbags, and from 1987 to 2011, a total of 34,757 lives were saved. The NHTSA estimates that as of June 2003, 231 people (144 children and 87 adults) have lost their lives because of airbags and many airbag-related injuries have been reported. Despite the fact that airbags are considered to be life-saving and their use has significantly reduced the fatality rate associated with high-speed collisions, airbag deployment alone has recently been implicated as a cause of clinically significant thoracic injury to unrestrained