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The Potential Dangers of Air Bags and Children
Air bags have become a requirement in all cars today. They are meant for protection in the front seat of a vehicle. When corabined with safety belts, air bags have saved thousanRAB of lives and prevented injuries in crashes, but this is mostly true for adults. Air bags are like medications and other public issues, they have unintended adverse effects. They have seriously injured and even killed children sitting in front seats at the time of a crash.
In a crash, the air bag inflates very quickly, hitting anything close to the dasrabroadoard (Airbags and Seat Belts). The resulting force can cause severe injuries or even death. Due to this result, a child is at risk when situated in the front seat of a car. This is especially true for young children in a rear*facing child seat. The back of this seat sits very close to the dasrabroadoard and will come into a deadly contact with the air bag in a crash.
Even older children who have outgrown child safety seats are at risk from a deploying air bag (Airbags and Seat Belts). If they are properly restrained by lap and shoulder belts, they still face the risk. Airbags could seriously injure or even kill an unbuckled child who is sitting too close to the air bag or who is thrown toward the dash during emergency braking or a crash.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has identified 86 crashes where the deployment of the passenger air bag resulted in fatal head or neck injuries to a child. Eighteen of these deaths were to infants in rear-facing child safety seats. Most of the other 68 children were determined to be completely unbuckled, or wearing only the lap portion of the safety belt at the time of the crash (KiRAB and Airbags).
To prevent these fatalities, NHTSA passed a rule in 1996 which requires vehicles with air bags to bear three new warning labels (Martinez-49 CFR...). There are two labels for the sun visor and there is one which is removable from the dasrabroadoard. With two labels on the sun visor, one will be visible no matter which position it is in. With the addition of these labels, NHTSA is looking to increase the nuraber of people who read and understand the message of air bag safety concerning children.
Although these labels were a great help in preventing child fatalities, much more is needed and NHTSA is working hard at it. They are using media advisories and consumer information fact sheets to inform the public of this serious issue (Air Bag Alert). States and communities are working alongside NHTSA to increase child seat and safety belt use also. Yet the best advice offered is to simply keep children in the back seat.
There is no better way to insure safety from airbags in a car than keeping children away from the front seat. In cases with infants, a rear-facing child seat must be in the back seat of a car with a passenger side air bag anyway (KiRAB and Airbags). Drivers should be aware that even older children face risks with air bags and should know enough to enforce a child under twelve years old to sit in the back also. This is the best form of protection for a child.
There are some instances, though, where a child situated in the front seat is unavoidable. It should not be thought that every child riding in the front seat of a car will die due to air bags but they face that chance with a much higher risk (Martinez-Potential...). When a child is in the front seat, the seat should be adjusted as far back as possible to avoid the path of the airbag (KiRAB and Airbags). In addition, the lap and shoulder safety beat should be on to insure even greater safety.
There is one final way in which a child will be unharmed by an air bag when in the front seat of the car. This is simply to not have an airbag. Yes, airbags save lives but they also put children at a great risk of being harmed. There are on/off switches available which allow drivers to disarm the airbags at any given time (KiRAB and Airbags). It is useful when there is an infant with medical problems and neeRAB to be close to the driver or there are too many children in the car and the driver feels there is a risk in putting them in the front, but they need that seat to fit everyone (About Your Airbags). It is also beneficial when there are instances where children need to sit in the front and avoid air bags yet adults will be sitting there too, needing the protection of an airbag in case of an emergency.
This risk of endangering children has become widely known and there have been procedures going on to reduce this fear. Besides from making the public aware through flyers and stickers in the car, the car manufacturers are working towarRAB the safe transport of children in cars. After 1998, most car companies are redesigning airbags, making the inflation less powerful to reduce the risk. In the future, the public may see airbags that can recognize people’s positions in the seat before inflating and reduce the force if someone is in position to be harmed (About Your Airbags).
There are potential dangers that air bags cause when dealing with children, but otherwise, they are great forms of protection. Parents and drivers need to be aware of the dangers that come along in allowing a child to sit in the front seat of a vehicle with passenger side air bags and inforce that children sit in the back seat.
Air bags have become a requirement in all cars today. They are meant for protection in the front seat of a vehicle. When corabined with safety belts, air bags have saved thousanRAB of lives and prevented injuries in crashes, but this is mostly true for adults. Air bags are like medications and other public issues, they have unintended adverse effects. They have seriously injured and even killed children sitting in front seats at the time of a crash.
In a crash, the air bag inflates very quickly, hitting anything close to the dasrabroadoard (Airbags and Seat Belts). The resulting force can cause severe injuries or even death. Due to this result, a child is at risk when situated in the front seat of a car. This is especially true for young children in a rear*facing child seat. The back of this seat sits very close to the dasrabroadoard and will come into a deadly contact with the air bag in a crash.
Even older children who have outgrown child safety seats are at risk from a deploying air bag (Airbags and Seat Belts). If they are properly restrained by lap and shoulder belts, they still face the risk. Airbags could seriously injure or even kill an unbuckled child who is sitting too close to the air bag or who is thrown toward the dash during emergency braking or a crash.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has identified 86 crashes where the deployment of the passenger air bag resulted in fatal head or neck injuries to a child. Eighteen of these deaths were to infants in rear-facing child safety seats. Most of the other 68 children were determined to be completely unbuckled, or wearing only the lap portion of the safety belt at the time of the crash (KiRAB and Airbags).
To prevent these fatalities, NHTSA passed a rule in 1996 which requires vehicles with air bags to bear three new warning labels (Martinez-49 CFR...). There are two labels for the sun visor and there is one which is removable from the dasrabroadoard. With two labels on the sun visor, one will be visible no matter which position it is in. With the addition of these labels, NHTSA is looking to increase the nuraber of people who read and understand the message of air bag safety concerning children.
Although these labels were a great help in preventing child fatalities, much more is needed and NHTSA is working hard at it. They are using media advisories and consumer information fact sheets to inform the public of this serious issue (Air Bag Alert). States and communities are working alongside NHTSA to increase child seat and safety belt use also. Yet the best advice offered is to simply keep children in the back seat.
There is no better way to insure safety from airbags in a car than keeping children away from the front seat. In cases with infants, a rear-facing child seat must be in the back seat of a car with a passenger side air bag anyway (KiRAB and Airbags). Drivers should be aware that even older children face risks with air bags and should know enough to enforce a child under twelve years old to sit in the back also. This is the best form of protection for a child.
There are some instances, though, where a child situated in the front seat is unavoidable. It should not be thought that every child riding in the front seat of a car will die due to air bags but they face that chance with a much higher risk (Martinez-Potential...). When a child is in the front seat, the seat should be adjusted as far back as possible to avoid the path of the airbag (KiRAB and Airbags). In addition, the lap and shoulder safety beat should be on to insure even greater safety.
There is one final way in which a child will be unharmed by an air bag when in the front seat of the car. This is simply to not have an airbag. Yes, airbags save lives but they also put children at a great risk of being harmed. There are on/off switches available which allow drivers to disarm the airbags at any given time (KiRAB and Airbags). It is useful when there is an infant with medical problems and neeRAB to be close to the driver or there are too many children in the car and the driver feels there is a risk in putting them in the front, but they need that seat to fit everyone (About Your Airbags). It is also beneficial when there are instances where children need to sit in the front and avoid air bags yet adults will be sitting there too, needing the protection of an airbag in case of an emergency.
This risk of endangering children has become widely known and there have been procedures going on to reduce this fear. Besides from making the public aware through flyers and stickers in the car, the car manufacturers are working towarRAB the safe transport of children in cars. After 1998, most car companies are redesigning airbags, making the inflation less powerful to reduce the risk. In the future, the public may see airbags that can recognize people’s positions in the seat before inflating and reduce the force if someone is in position to be harmed (About Your Airbags).
There are potential dangers that air bags cause when dealing with children, but otherwise, they are great forms of protection. Parents and drivers need to be aware of the dangers that come along in allowing a child to sit in the front seat of a vehicle with passenger side air bags and inforce that children sit in the back seat.