The Air Bag That Saves Your
Life
Could Kill Your Child
Air Bags
and Children :
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) recommends placing all children 12 years old and younger in the back
seat. This is the safest place in the vehicle. Each child should be properly
restrained using a child safety sear or safety belt, depending on his or her
size. Never put an infant in the front seat of a passenger side air bag
equipped vehicle.
If a child must be placed in the front seat of a
vehicle equipped with air bags,
- the seat needs to be pushed all the way back;
- the child needs to sit with his or her back against the seat back; and
- the child should be buckled securely with minimal belt slack.
This
will reduce forward movement in a crash and maximize air bag
effectiveness.
Air Bags and Short, Elderly or Pregnant
Persons :
All drivers and passengers should do the following :
- Always buckle up, with slack at a minimum;
- Sit as far back as possible, tilting the seat slightly rearward;
- Adjust the tilt steering wheel toward the chest; and
- Hold the steering wheel from the sides.
Short, pregnant or elderly
vehicle occupants who follow these recommendations will maximize the life saving
benefits of air bags and safety belts.
FAQ About Air Bag Related Injuries and Children
DANGER TO CHILDREN
Question:
Why
are air bags dangerous to children age 12 and under?
Answer:
Air bags inflate at speeds up to 200 mph. That
blast of energy can severly hurt of kill passengers and drivers who are too
close to the air bag. An infant's head in a rear facing safety seat is directly
in front of the air bag as it breaks through the dashboard and instantly
inflates. Even some forward facing child safety seats could possibly place the
child within range of the air bag before it is fully inflated. Also, if a child
is unbelted, or too small for the lap and shoulder belts to fit properly, or
wriggling around or leaning forward, there is a danger that the child will be
too close to the dashboard during that instant the air bag begins to
inflate.
IMPORTANCE OF SAFETY BELTS
Question:
How can an air bag work so well for adults, but
hurt children in the front passenger seat?
Answer:
An average size adult who is correctly belted is
not likely to come in contact with the air bag until it is fully inflated. A
fully inflated air bag spreads the force of the crash across a wide area of the
body. Even an unbelted adult will probably come in contact with the air bag at
the chest area after the bag has at least partially inflated. For greatest
protection, both the driver and front passengers should be correctly belted and
the seats moved back as far as practical to allow ample space for the air bag to
expand.
Unbelted or improperly belted children can easily slide off the seat
during pre-crash braking, throwing them against the dashboard where the air bag
can strike them on the head or neck with tremendous force before it is fully
inflated.
The air bag only inflated in front end crashes and collapses
immediately. For protection in all types of collisions it is very important to
always use both the lap and shoulder belts.
BEING
SMOTHERED BY AN AIR BAG
Question:
Is it
true that a passenger can be smothered by an air bag?
Answer:
No! The injuries that occur are caused by
the inflating bag hitting the head and neck of an out of position passenger or
the inflating bag hitting the back of an infant seat behind a baby's head. The
air bag loses its air right after it inflates, so the stiff fabric does not
remain over the passenger's face.
Information Provided From
NHTSA
For More Air Bag Information see the NHTSA Web Site.
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