Among the biggest news stories of the 90s have been reports of airbags killing children and small adults. In true 90s fashion, the media hastened to focus on the drama of "death-by-airbag" and not on the actual facts surrounding the incidents. As of September 1, 1998, there have been 113 confirmed airbag deaths. This number dates back to 1993 when the first child airbag death occurred. (The first adult death was in 1990, althoughit was not recognized at the time.) The actual facts of these 113 airbag tragedies are: of the 47 adults killed by airbags, only 13 were wearing aseat belt; of the 66 children who died as a result of airbag deployment, 15 were infants in rear-facing child safety seats placed in the front seat ofthe vehicle and 48 were children either incorrectly seat-belted or completely unrestrained. Only three children who died as a result of an airbag deployment were properly restrained in the vehicle.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is the official "counter" of traffic statistics. The agency says they use the speed of the vehicle and the level of injuries to other occupants involved in the crash when determining a death has been caused by an airbag.
What killed the infants, small children and adults in these cases, says NHTSA, was the force with which the bag was deployed, not suffocation, as many people think. If you understand that airbags were originally designedto deploy quickly enough and with enough force to protect an unbelted adult male, it is easy to see why they are so powerful. Because the back of arear-facing child seat sits very close to the dashboard, the seat could be struck with enough force to cause serious or even fatal injuries to a baby.
Unless there is no passenger-side airbag on the vehicle, or if the vehicle is equipped with a cut-off switch for the airbag and the airbag is shut off, under absolutely no circumstances should an infant be placed in a rear-facing infant seat in front of an airbag. Even if there is no airbag or the airbag is shut off ordisabled, the safest place for all children aged 12 and under is in the rear seat.
Although many parents are concerned about having a child in a rear-facing infant seat in the rear seat of a vehicle, the American Academy of Pediatrics stresses that a healthy baby buckled correctly in a rear-facing infant seat is as safe as a baby placed in a crib for a nap or overnight sleep. The risk of serious injury in a crash is much greater than the riskof a healthy baby having a life-threatening health problem during a car ride.
While NHTSA recommends that children 12 and under never sit in the front seat of a vehicle which is equipped with a passenger airbag, Volvo, one of the automakers which prides itself on inordinate attention to safety features in their vehicles, maintains that only persons 4'7" or taller should ever ride in the front passenger seat. Their recommendation includes relegating small adults as well as children to the rear of the vehicle.
NHTSA points out that if no option exists other than seating a child under age 12 in the front seat, several steps need to be taken. First, the child needs to be properly restrained. This means, depending on the size of the child, using a booster seat plus a lap/shoulder belt, or a lap/shoulder belt alone (for larger children). Second, the vehicle seat needs to be pushed as far away from the airbag as possible to maximize the distance between the child and the airbag. Third, the child needs to be sitting with his/her back against the seatback, not wiggling around or leaning forward, with as little slack as possible in the belt to minimize forward movement in a crash.
The one fact that is common in all airbag fatalities is that the victim was too close to the airbag when it started to deploy. For some, this occurred because they were sitting too close to the dashboard. More often this occurred because they were not restrained by seat belts or child safety seats and were thrown forward during pre-crash braking.
To fully appreciate the importance of airbags, it is necessary to understand how they work. Technically speaking, airbags are inflated by nitrogen gas when a sensor detects a crash and form a cushion between the structure of the car and the occupant, who is still moving forward. As the person falls into the bag, the gas is pushed out small vents in the back. This absorbs the movement of the occupant, reducing the chance of injury and death. In order to protect vehicle occupants in a crash, airbags must move quickly to get into the position which allows them to be the most effective. That's why they need to have so much force. When occupants are restrained by a safety belt, they are held back from the bag while it is moving into position. It is necessary to note here that belted drivers sitting so the center of their chest is closer than ten inches from the center of the steering wheel are potentially at risk from an exploding airbag. If you're a short driver and cannot get back ten inches from the airbag and still reach the pedals, consider pedal extenders. These new features are available at auto supply stores and are coming soon as a standard feature on several vehicle models. Every driver and front passenger needs to sit as far back from the airbag as possible. And always wear a seat belt.
The importance of seat belts can not be minimized. Apart from their role in making airbags effective, there are several other reasons the seat belt is the single most important safety device in your vehicle. Airbags do not help when a car is rolling over and they do not prevent ejection. They are of no use after the first impact, so if you are in traffic and are hit by a second vehicle, the airbag would already have deployed.
REMEMBER: Everybody Buckle Up Every time You Get in Your Vehicle.
Used with the seat belt, the supplemental restraint system (aka airbag) does save lives. NHTSA reports that 2,600 lives have been saved by airbags as of October 1997. That total goes back to the first airbags, which began appearing in cars in significant numbers in the late 1980s. The number increases each year as more airbags are installed. The "death-by-airbag" rate can decrease only if we are all buckle our seat belts and all children and small adults are in the back seat, properly restrained, even for a shortride to the store.
Still, deploying airbags continue to be a worry and there are some cases where disconnecting the airbag is justified. If you feel you have a good reason to disable the airbag(s) in your car, call NHTSA, 1-800-424-9393, or write NHTSA Information, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590, for the facts surrounding this issue. The NHTSA website has information about the qualifications required to disconnect an airbag, plus the most up-to-date information on airbag on-off switches.
NHTSA says that only people in the following situations have legitimate reason to consider installing an on-off switch on the airbag(s) in their vehicle:
People who must transport infants riding in rear-facing infant seats in the front passenger seat.
People who must transport children ages 1 to 12 in the front passenger seat.
Drivers who cannot change their customary driving position and keep 10 inches between the center of the steering wheel and the center of their breastbone.
People whose doctors say that, due to their medical condition, the airbag poses a special risk that outweighs the risk of hitting their head, neck or chest in a crash if the airbag is turned off.
If you cannot certify that you are, or any user of your vehicle is, in one of these groups, you are not eligible for an on-off switch.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) further emphasizes that careful consideration be given before disabling an airbag or installing an on-off switch. They urge people not to discount the benefits of airbags. "If you're one of the very few for whom airbags may pose a risk," says the IIHS, "then an on/off switch may be appropriate. But remember how few people really need on/off switches and how easily they can be misused. And remember this: If you turn off your airbag, you'd be foregoing important protection in the event of a serious frontal crash. When you know the facts, it becomes clear that leaving airbags intact is almost always best."
The possibility of disabling airbags in vehicles brings up another important question. When you purchase a used car, how do you know if the airbag has been disconnected? Unfortunately, there is no obvious way to tell. The NHTSA website provides a search database of vehicles with disconnected airbags. But the safest way to know is to have any used car under consideration inspected by a qualified mechanic with experience working on airbags.
Many mechanics will not disable airbags even though with a NHTSA waiver, it is legal for them to do so. They don't want the liability of being sued if someone is injured or killed in a car whose airbag they have disconnected. They may have the legal right to disconnect an airbag, but nothing stops the owner, his family or the passenger's family from suing the repair shop. Even if the shop owner is not responsible, there will still be attorney's fees.
There's much going on in the development of "safer" airbags by automakers. A number of 1998 and 1999 vehicles are utilizing "depowered," sometimes called "Next Generation" or "Second Generation," airbags. These are essentially airbags which a manufacturer has designed with a smaller amount of propellant. They are certified under an alternate NHTSA test as an interim way of reducing airbag risks. A propellant is the powder that reacts to form a gas to fill the bag. Almost all airbags use sodium azide as a propellant. It has one atom of sodium and three of nitrogen in its molecule. When it is deployed, the nitrogen is released as a gas and fills the airbag. NHTSA says the gas can be hot, and if a hand is right near the vent hole in the back of the bag, there can be thermal burns. Also, friction burns can arise from contact with the bag as it deploys. In both instances, NHTSA points out that designs have been changed to alleviate these problems. As for the powder some people say they find all over themselves after an airbag deploys, NHTSA explains that a powder is packed with the bag to keep the fabric from sticking together during storage. Filters keep most of the by-products of the deployment inside the canister, but a small amount of solid material may escape.
The next major step in front airbag development is "advanced airbags." Proposed regulations for bags that will have less chance of injuring children and smaller drivers and passengers have been published and are available on the NHTSA website. The regulations will be put out in final form early next year.
In spite of all the sophisticated technology involved in airbag composition, airbags occasionally go off without a collision. The IIHS says these events generally seem to be related to over-sensitive sensor mechanisms that are reading "crash" when, in fact, something else, like a stone hitting the under side of the vehicle, is happening. In the case of some vehicles, a short in the airbag system may have been caused by water or another liquid. As for any vehicle owner recourse in a non-collision exploding airbag, the law varies by state, so there is no one answer. There's also no one answer to the cost of airbag replacement and the time involved. The cost and time required can vary as much as interior differences in today's vehicles.
Most of the automaker and governmental concern in the 90s has been with front airbags. But what about side-impact collisions? Front airbags aren't much help there. A number of automakers are presently responding to this need by equipping some of their vehicles with side airbags. These air bags are designed to deploy from either the doors or the outside of the seat. Mercedes-Benz and Volvo have gone one step further with side window airbag curtains that drop down from the roof line above the door frame to protect occupants from intrusion, splintering glass and side window ejection. Watch for more news from other automakers, too, as they continue to challenge each other with new and better safety innovations on their vehicles for the new millennium.
The number of current vehicles with side airbags is impressive. There are even several in the economy and average price range. The listing includes the Audi A8 and A6; BMW 3, 5, and 7 Series; Cadillac DeVille; Chevrolet Prism; Chevrolet Venture/Oldsmobile Silhouette/Pontiac Transport minivans; Infiniti Q-45 and I-30; Lexus LS 400, GS and ES 300; Jaguar XJ Series; Nissan Maxima; Porsche Boxster and 911; Toyota Avalon, Camry and Corolla; Volkswagen Cabrio, Beetle, Golf, Jetta and Passat; Volvo S70, V70, C70 and S80.
NHTSA says there are no plans to specify that either side airbags or window curtain devices be used to meet side crash impact standards, pointing out that many cars meet present standards without side airbags or curtains. The agency did, however, recently modify its head protection testing procedure to make sure that window curtain devices would not be prohibited arbitrarily. The folks at the IIHS say they have no official position on side airbags because they feel more research and real world data is necessary.
NHTSA points out that standards must change over time. They say revisions are a reflection of technological changes in the auto industry and also the rising expectations on the part of the public. The agency says their standards form a minimum level and manufacturers are encouraged to design vehicles to meet higher standards. They acknowledge that safety is a vehicle selling point to a greater and greater degree as we end the 90s and enter the new millennium and cite such items as integrated child safety seats or side airbags as examples of how manufacturers meet consumer demand with features which are not required by NHTSA standards. They also point out that consumers can affect the standards process directly by commenting on proposed rules or even by petitioning for a change to a standard.
Even with all the technological advancement in airbags, the seat belt remains the single most important safety device in your vehicle. It's the seat belt, not an airbag, that helps you confined when a car is rolling over and it's the seat belt that keeps you from being ejected. Also, it's the seat belt that holds you back while the airbag explodes and gets into position to save your life.
NHTSA and other safety organizations can produce volumes of statistics on crashes, airbag deployment fatalities and all forms of traffic tragedies, but it all comes down to this. airbags save lives -- with help. It's as easy as ABC -- Airbag safety: Buckle everyone! Children in the back.
