BACKGROUND: Injuries from motor vehicle crashes constitute a leading cause of death in the young and a high degree of morbidity and mortality in all age groups. Facial trauma has been consistently shown to be the single most common injury to the occupants of vehicles involved in crashes. This has been confirmed by more recent studies which have demonstrated a continuing high incidence of facial fractures amongst belted drivers. Airbags have been advocated as a supplemental restraint system. However, their deployment can cause injury particularly if the driver is of short stature, unrestrained or out of position within the vehicle. METHODS: The Crash Injury Research Engineering Network (CIREN) project aims to correlate the injuries received by occupants in vehicle crashes with the biomechanics of vehicle deformation. All cases of facial injury which presented to the University of Michigan Medical Center, USA in 1999 were retrospectively evaluated with reference to the methods of occupant restraint and to the correlation between the injuries sustained and vehicle deformation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The case analysis confirmed the value of airbags to the safety of vehicle occupants but reinforced the conclusion that they must still be considered supplemental restraint systems. New generation airbags will minimise the risk of injury even to small stature or out of position occupants as they will prevent deployment in situations where they may have an adverse effect.
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