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AIR BAGS AND SAFETY BELTS SAVE LIVES WHEN USED PROPERLY!!!
THE PURPOSE OF AIR BAGS Air bags are designed for frontal and front-angle crashes, the kind of impact that accounts for more than half of all occupant fatalities in passenger vehicles. Air bags are designed to distribute the force of the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper body, stopping the occupant more gradually. Air bags only supplement safety belts - they do not replace them. THE BENEFITS OF AIR BAGS In North America it is estimated that air bags have inflated in over one million crashes, saved over 1700 lives as well as prevented more serious injuries. Statistics from two American organizations that collect data on air bag safety, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, report that for belted drivers air bags improve probability of crash survival by 21%. THE RISKS OF AIR BAGS During pre-crash braking, unrestrained occupants may be thrown against the vehicle interior, in immediate proximity to an air bag. Since air bags inflate in less than 1/30th of a second, faster than a blink of an eye, drivers and passengers who are unrestrained or improperly restrained (only wearing lap portion of safety belt) can receive serious or even fatal injuries from deploying air bags.	PROPER USE OF YOUR SAFETY SYSTEM ALWAYS wear your safety belt properly, using both the lap and shoulder belt. Stay seated in the upright position, making sure that the lap portion of the belt is worn low and snug on the hips, just touching the thighs, and the shoulder belt goes over the shoulder and across the chest. NEVER put an infant in a rear-facing child safety seat in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger side air bag (except in a vehicle that has a cutoff switch for the air bag, and then only if the air bag is turned off). If possible, all children should be secured in a rear seat. This includes children in forward -facing child safety seats and children who are too large for a child safety seat. If the front seat is used for these non-infant children, move the seat back as far as possible, restrain the child properly, and ensure the child is sitting back in the seat and not leaning forward. ALWAYS secure infants and small children in child safety seats that are proper for the size and age of the child, and that are properly secured to the vehicle. Check both the Owner’s Manual for your vehicle and the instructions for your child safety seat for proper use information. Always use the child safety seat top tether strap supplied with your child safety seat. Larger children, typically those over 12 years old, may ride in the front seat, if they are properly restrained and the seat is positioned all the way back, in a vehicle with a passenger-side air bag. But they too are safer if they ride in a rear seat.
AIR BAGS AND SAFETY BELTS SAVE LIVES WHEN USED PROPERLY! Air bags are safety devices designed to supplement the protection provided by safety belts. In North America, over one million air bags have deployed saving over 1700 lives as well as preventing many serious injuries. However, because air bags inflate almost instantaneously with great force, they do have the potential to cause fatalities or serious injury in certain situations. How can individuals minimize the risk of injury from an inflating air bag? ALWAYS wear your safety belt properly. Stay seated in the upright position, making sure that the lap portion of the belt is worn low and snug on the hips, just touching the thighs, and the shoulder belt goes over the shoulder and across the chest. NEVER put an infant in a rear-facing child safety seat in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger-side air bag (except in a vehicle that has a cutoff switch for the air bag, and then only if the air bag is turned off). ALWAYS secure infants and small children in child safety seats that are proper for the size and age of the child, and that are properly secured to the vehicle. Check both the Owner’s Manual for your vehicle and the instructions for your child safety seat for proper use information. Always use the child safety seat top tether strap supplied with your child safety seat. If possible, all other children should also be secured in a rear seat. This includes children in forward-facing child safety seats and children who are too large for a child safety seat. If the front seat is used for these non-infant children, move the seat back as far as possible, restrain the child properly, and ensure the child is sitting back in the seat and not leaning forward. Larger children, typically those over 12 years old, may ride in the front seat if they are properly restrained.
Air Bag Questions and Answers
At what speed will an air bag deploy? Air bags inflate as fast as 200 mph (320km/h), and with great force. U.S. Federal regulations currently require air bags to inflate and restrain an unbelted dummy representing the average adult male in a crash test into a concrete barrier at 30 mph (48 km/h). To meet this federal requirement, an air bag must inflate in a split second (about 1/30th of a second). This is faster than a blink of an eye. It is so fast you can't see it happen. In the crash test the air bag must be able to restrain the force that the unbelted dummy, which weighs about 165 pounds (75kg), applies to the air bag. That force can be as much as 2000 pounds (900 kg). Can I use a child seat in the front seat of my vehicle if it has an air bag on the passenger side? Air bags have to deploy very quickly to provide protection in crash situations. This rapid deployment poses a serious problem for child seats placed in the front seat of a vehicle equipped with a passenger-side air bag. These seats, especially rear facing infant seats, are often very close to the locations in the instrument panel where the air bag will emerge during inflation. If the inflating air bag strikes the infant seat, the child will be seriously injured or suffer fatal injuries. Because of the risk, great care must be taken when installing child restraints in seating positions with air bags. Will an air bag deploy if a vehicle is rear ended, or pushed forward into another object (e.g. a car)? Air bags protect the driver and front passenger in moderate to severe frontal and front-angle crashes and are not designed to open in rear-end collisions, side impacts, or rollovers. Air bags may deploy in undercarriage impacts and angled collisions, including side impacts, where there is sufficient longitudinal deceleration. Triggering of inflation is determined partially by the angle of the impact but primarily by the speed at which the vehicle slows down. The air bag will inflate only if the rate of deceleration is above the system’s designed "threshold level." If your vehicle goes straight into a wall that doesn't move or deform, the threshold level is about 9 to 15 mph (15 to 24 km/h) depending on vehicle design. If your vehicle strikes something that will move or deform, such as a parked car, the threshold level will be higher. In any particular crash, no one can say whether an air bag should have inflated simply because of the damage to a vehicle or according to the amount of repair costs. Inflation is determined by the angle of the impact and how quickly the vehicle slows down in frontal and front-angle impacts. How effective are air bags? Air bags have inflated in over a million accidents, and the best estimate is that they've saved more than 1,700 lives and prevented many more serious injuries. They are very effective in reducing deaths and serious injuries in moderate to severe frontal and front-angle crashes for which they are designed. In the most recent comparisons of driver deaths in frontal (head-on and angle) crashes of cars with both air bags and safety belts and cars with only belts, U.S. researchers found about 20 percent fewer driver deaths in cars equipped with air bags. Compared with cars equipped only with driver side air bags, deaths among right front passengers of cars with dual air bags are about 18 percent fewer than expected in frontal crashes, and 11 percent fewer than in all crashes. In all kinds of crashes, the fatality reduction is about 14 percent for cars with air bags over and above lives already being saved by safety belts. What are "depowered" air bags? Terms such as "less aggressive" or "depowered" in relation to air bags refer to the reduction of speed and force with which the air bag is deployed. Less aggressive air bags are the best near-term technological step toward decreasing air bag inflation-induced injuries. As a long term solution, "smart bags" are under development by motor vehicle manufacturers and suppliers. Smart bags may be developed with at least two thresholds of activation. The next generation of air bag systems may have proximity sensors that gauge how close an occupant is to the air bag module and may be equipped with warning systems that signal to disconnect the air bag when someone is too close, for instance when a driver has fallen asleep and is slumped over the steering wheel. What about deactivating the air bag system? The 1700 lives saved by air bags, as well as the numerous injuries prevented, indicate that the benefits of air bags far outweigh the risks associated with air bag deployment. While automotive manufacturers cannot prevent owners from disabling or attempting to disable air bag systems, they are unlikely, under any circumstances, to advise authorized dealers to deactivate a safety system which has quite clearly received widespread support throughout North America. Automotive manufacturers in North America do not support any proposal to deactivate air bags.	Will air bags inflate when you drive over a curb, by hard braking, driving on rough roads or in minor parking lot incidents? General Motors conducts extensive testing to ensure that incidents like this do not occur. In fact, one of the most common complaints is to the effect that the vehicle has suffered a significant amount of front-end damage involving high repair costs, and as a result, the customer feels that the air bag should have inflated when in fact the forward deceleration forces were not sufficient to cause the system to deploy the air bag. (see above question for more details) How reliable are air bags? The track record of air bags indicates that they inflate when they're supposed to, in moderate to severe frontal and front-angle crashes. Air bags are not designed to deploy when cars go over bumps or potholes. Air bags are designed to inflate in crashes equivalent to hitting a wall at speeds above a range 9 to 15 mph (15 to 24 km/h). Air bags are reliable for the life of the car. What are some of the potential injuries that can result from air bag deployment? Air bags are designed to provide protection in moderate to severe frontal and front-angle crashes. The deployment threshold of many current air bag systems is equivalent to a vehicle striking a concrete barrier at 9 to 15 mph (15 to 24 km/h). As a result, some vehicle occupants are sustaining injuries that could have been avoided had the air bag not deployed. Most injuries suffered in low speed collisions are minor, consisting mainly of bruises and abrasions. However, some are more serious, and can be as severe as fatal head or neck injuries. Children and smaller individuals are at greatest risk since their head is lower and they sit closer to the steering wheel or instrument panel. An infant in a rear-facing child safety seat should never be placed in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger side air bag. If a crash triggers the air bag, it will hit the back of the infant seat with such speed and force that the infant is very likely to suffer serious or even fatal injuries. Improperly restrained children, and unrestrained children, sitting or standing close to the dashboard are at high risk of injury and should always be secured in the rear seat. How can individuals minimize the risk of injury from an inflating air bag? ALWAYS wear your safety belt properly. Stay seated in the upright position, making sure that: the lap portion of the belt is worn low and snug on the hips, just touching the thighs, and the shoulder belt goes over the shoulder and across the chest. NEVER put an infant in a rear-facing child safety seat in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger side air bag (except in a vehicle that has a cutoff switch for the air bag, and then only if the air bag is turned off). ALWAYS secure infants and small children in child safety seats that are proper for the size and age of the child, and that are properly secured to the vehicle. Check both the Owner’s Manual for your vehicle and the instructions for your child safety seat for proper use information. Always use the child seat top tether strap supplied with your child seat. If possible, all other children should also be secured in a rear seat. This includes children in forward-facing child safety seats and children who are too large for a child safety seat. If the front seat is used for these non-infant children, move the seat back as far as possible, restrain the child properly, and ensure the child is sitting back in the seat and not leaning forward. Larger children, typically those over 12 years old, may ride in the front seat if they are properly restrained. But they too are safer if they ride in a rear seat. Is there a greater risk of injury to small statured customers in the event the air bag does deploy? Small statured individuals and children are placed at increased risk. First, their head is lower than most other drivers and passengers and therefore may be closer to the air bag. Secondly, as drivers, they have to sit closer to the steering wheel. The driver’s seat should be moved as far back as practical and if possible, the seat should be reclined back away from steering wheel, while still maintaining comfortable driver control. Front passengers should move their seat back as far as possible. Drivers and passengers should follow the guidelines, how individuals can minimize the risk of injury from an inflating air bag, described previously. When will depowered air bags be available in Canada? Canadian automotive manufacturers are committed to the introduction of depowered air bags and are working toward an introduction of these systems as soon as possible. It is anticipated that depowered air bag systems will be available on a few high volume models later this year.
Air Bag Safety Tips
Protecting the children who ride with you, your precious cargo, is important. People expose children – many times everyday – to the risk of death or injury by not restraining them properly in moving vehicles. Neither the distance to be traveled nor the age and size of the traveler changes the need, for everyone, to use safety restraints. The principles of occupant restraint apply to all motor vehicles in every country in the motorized world. The proper use of the safety restraint systems, provided by the vehicle manufacturer, and a portable child restraint purchased by the vehicle owner enhances the protection of all travelers in a crash. If all adults and older children in Canada wore the safety belts properly that are provided in the vehicles, thousands of highway fatalities would be prevented and many more thousands of injuries would be less serious every year. Every year hundreds of children under the age of five are killed while riding in motor vehicles. In addition, hospital emergency rooms care for thousands more who are injured in crashes. With the proper use of child restraints, injuries to young children could be reduced dramatically, and more than one-half the deaths could be prevented
Be Aware of Your Safety System: Don't Put Your Children at Risk
ALWAYS WEAR BOTH LAP AND SHOULDER BELTS PROPERLY: Stay seated in the upright position, making sure that the lap portion of the belt is worn low and snug on the hips, just touching the thighs, and the shoulder belt goes over the shoulder and across the chest. The shoulder belt should NEVER be placed behind the back or under the arm – this is a dangerous habit, especially in vehicles with air bags. CHILDREN RIDE IN THE BACK: Infants in rear-facing child safety seats should NEVER ride in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger-side air bag. Children, typically 12 and under, should also ride properly buckled up in the back seat. CHILD SAFETY SEATS: Young children and infants should always ride in age and size appropriate child safety seats. The safety seat should be held properly in place by the vehicle’s safety belts and the child should be correctly buckled in the child safety seat. A child who has outgrown a convertible child safety seat will need to ride in a booster seat for the vehicle’s safety belts to fit properly. MOVE THE FRONT SEATS BACK: Driver and front passenger-side seats should be moved as far back as possible or practical, particularly for small statured people. In addition to moving the driver’s seat back, recline the seat back as far as practical and safe.