Which finding would be LEAST suggestive of a high-energy trauma?

• A. Dismounted seats
• B. Deployment of the air bag
• C. Intrusion into the vehicle
• D. Steering wheel deformity

Answer: (B)

In crashes, the amount of energy transferred to the occupants is often reflected by how badly the vehicle itself is damaged. When the passenger compartment is intruded, seats are displaced, or the steering wheel deforms, it shows the crash force was strong enough to distort the vehicle’s structure and push into where the occupants are. Those findings are direct indicators of high-energy impact.

Air bag deployment also signals significant deceleration, but it’s not as specific a marker of overall crash energy. Airbags deploy based on sensor thresholds and can fire in a range of crash energies, and they may deploy or not deploy for reasons beyond just how hard the crash was (such as occupant position or system faults). So while deployment means there was enough force to trigger the system, it’s less consistently tied to high-energy trauma compared with tangible structural damage like intrusion, dismounted seats, or steering wheel deformity.