Autoliv Launches World's First Whiplash Protection for Rear-Seat Occupants
15 September 1999
Autoliv Launches World's First Whiplash Protection for Rear-Seat Occupants STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Sept. 15 -- At a press conference at the
Frankfurt Auto Show, Autoliv Inc. -- the
worldwide leader in automotive safety systems -- presented the world's first
anti-whiplash system specially developed for rear-seat occupants. The new
Self-Inflating Head Restraint (SIHR) follows upon the introduction last year
of Autoliv's anti-whiplash system for front-seat occupants AWS, which has
proven to be very effective according to independent car crash tests
performed, for instance, by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS)
in the United States.
Autoliv's new system SIHR consists of a bag in the backrest which is
filled with air. In a rear-end collision, the air is pressed to a small bag
in the headrest, which then will be moved forward up to 5 cm. This reduces,
or eliminates completely, any dangerous gap between the occupant's head and
the headrest. About 90% of the occupants are sitting with a gap up to 20 cm.
Typically, the gap is 10 cm, which is enough, however, to risk creating a
whiplash disorder.
As in Autoliv's anti-whiplash system for front-seat occupants, the new
SIHR system has the advantage of not needing a sensor to be triggered. Nor
does it require a gas generator to inflate the bag in the headrest. Instead,
the system works automatically. It is the occupant himself that triggers the
system and inflates the headrest bag, by pushing into the foam of the seatback
during the early phase of the rear-end collision. Autoliv's SIHR system is
thus simple, reliable and easily resettable after being used in a rear-end
impact.
Test results
In laboratory sled tests simulating a typical low speed rear-end collision
(i.e. velocity change =17 km/h, which corresponds to a crash speed of
25-30 km/h, and pulse level =8g), Autoliv's new anti-whiplash system SIHR has
shown to be very effective. Compared to a traditional, static headrest,
Autoliv's SIHR system reduced the loadings to the neck by as much as up to
50%. Even more important is the fact that the SIHR values consistently have
shown to be within levels that are deemed to be non-injurious. The gap
between the head and the headrest was varied in the tests up to 10 cm.
As a reference, a test was also done without any headrest at all. In that
test, the loading to the neck was more than four times as high as in the test
with Autoliv's SIHR and, as expected, far above tolerable levels.
In order to determine the risk for side effects, another test was
performed which showed that Autoliv's SIHR system did not increase the loading
to the neck compared to a conventional, static head restraint, if the head
originally was leaning on the headrest.
In these tests, the new Biofidelic Rear Impact Dummy, BioRID, was used.
Unlike a traditional test dummy, BioRID has the same number of "vertebrae" as
a human being. The Bio-RID test dummy has been developed by the Chalmers
University of Technology in Sweden in cooperation with Autoliv, Saab and
Volvo.
Evaluation of the loading to the neck was done with the Neck Injury
Criterion (NIC).
The Whiplash Issue
Rear-end collisions typically account for a quarter of all traffic
accidents in North America and Europe. Although these collisions rarely lead
to life threatening injuries, they often give rise to whiplash injuries. Of
these injuries, 10% lead to permanent disability. Neck injuries are therefore
the single most important expense to insurance companies for personal injuries
to car occupants. In many countries, neck injuries account for 50% of these
costs. In the United States alone, the annual costs exceed $7 billion.
In addition, the frequency of neck injuries with long-term consequences is
increasing and has doubled between the 1970's and 1990's according to Swedish
data.
In over 90% of the rear-end collisions, the velocity change of the
impacted car was below 25 km/h.
Illustrations:
An animation showing the SIHR working principle and live sequences from
the tests, as well as photos of Dr. Haland, are available for downloading from
Autoliv's web site http://www.autoliv.com, see under News and this press
release.
Videotapes are also available in Beta or VHS from the Company.
Inquiries:
Dr. Yngve Haland, Vice President Research, Autoliv Inc. Tel
+46-322-62-6307
Mats Odman Dir. Corp. Com, +46-8-587-20-600, or mob, +46-708-32-0933
Barry Murphy, Director Investor Relations, +1-248-475-0409
Autoliv Inc. develops and manufactures automotive safety systems for all
major automotive manufacturers in the world. The company has more than
60 wholly-owned subsidiaries and joint ventures with 22,000 employees
in 28 vehicle-producing countries. In addition, the company has
eight technical centers around the world, including 19 test tracks, more than
any other automotive safety supplier. Sales in 1998 amounted to close to US
$3.5 billion and net income US $188 million. The company's shares are listed
on the New York Stock Exchange , its Swedish Depositary Receipts on
the Stockholm Stock Exchange (SSE: ALIV) and its stock options on the Chicago
Board Options Exchange (CBOE: ALV.)
