Side Impact Airbag Mandate

NHTSA began reviewing the safety effects of side airbags in 2004, and the agency concluded that 300 lives and 400 serious injuries a year could be prevented by side airbags that protect the torso and side-curtain airbags that protect the head. Curtain airbags extend along the roofline and provide protection for rear seat passengers. In 2005, NHTSA figures show that 9,200 people died in side impact crashes.

Automakers Act
Automakers voluntarily agreed to install side airbags in 2003 and about 47 percent of 2008 models already furnish the combination of side-curtain airbags and side airbags that protect the torso, according to NHTSA.


Although the government never requires a specific safety device when it issues these regulations, it does require that automakers use safety technology that will allow them to pass specific crash tests. Under this new regulation, test criteria will simulate side crashes into fixed objects—trees, poles, etc. In addition, NHTSA ordered a new test designed to protect rear passengers in side crashes. The rear seat test will feature a movable barrier that is more forgiving than a fixed object. And for the first time, NHTSA mandates the use of a crash test dummy that simulates a small stature woman. The new criteria could make some side airbag systems that automakers voluntarily added to their vehicles unacceptable. But it would beef up protection for older children and elderly passengers who usually ride in the rear seats. The estimated cost of the regulation is $560 million annually for automakers.


Under the government's regulation, automakers must have the systems in 20 percent of passenger vehicles by 2010, 50 percent by 2011, 75 percent by 2012 and 100 percent by September 2012.