How future trends in societal aging, air bag availability, seat belt use, and fleet composition will affect serious injury risk and occurrence in the United States

The objective of this study was to quantify the importance of societal aging relative to other factors that are known to affect injury risk. An aging population's effect on Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS) 3+ injury trends for passenger car drivers in frontal crashes was projected and compared to the effects of projected changes in fleet composition, changes in seat belt usage, and changes in air bag availability. It was determined that increased frailty due to an aging population will result in 19,816 to 43,568 additional injuries to passenger car drivers in frontal crashes from 1996 to 2012. Aging was shown to have an effect similar to the increased presence of light trucks in the fleet (a cumulative increase of approximately 47,428 injuries). Aging and changing fleet composition were shown to have a smaller effect than the projected increases in seat belt use or air bag availability, though the effect of increased belt use is not much greater than the effect of aging. After 2012, however, air bag availability and seat belt use will plateau, while societal aging will continue.