Airbag safety: deployment in an automobile crash with a fall from height

Airbag restraint systems have demonstrated a significant reduction in mortality in motor vehicle crashes (MVCs). While airbag devices are effective primarily in frontal or near-frontal impacts, little is known about the efficacy of these devices in nonfrontal types of collisions. Moreover, there are reports of injuries specific to airbag deployment that have led some investigators to question the benefit of such devices. This article reports a rollover MVC with a considerable fall from height in which lap/shoulder belts were used in addition to airbag deployment that resulted in protection of the driver from injury. The outcome of this case continues to support the combination of belt and airbag restraint systems as the most effective occupant protection in both frontal and nonfrontal types of MVCs.