Airbags Save Lives But Be Careful

Paul Grieco

Contributor

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Every year airbags prevent serious injuries to motor vehicle occupants and save over 1500 lives. These remarkable devices, are designned to explode out of the dashboard and side panels of a car in order to protect the driver and front seat passenger from impacting the dashboard and windshield. However when a young child is a passenger in a car, extra caution should be used so that the child is not injured by the airbag if an accident occurs. Because of of the danger to children from airbags, many states require children under certain ages and certain weights to ride in the back seat with proper safety restraints. If in doubt, place your child in the back seat and make sure they are properly secured.

Airbags deploy at over 200 mph. If a child is in the front seat and is exposed to this explosive force, serious injury and even death can occur. This is because, young children are more prone to being thrown toward the dashboard at the same time the airbag is deploying. In the back seat, children are farthest away from the impact and the force of the airbag. No matter how short a distance you are travelling with a child in the car, make sure they are properly secured in the rear seat so that if there is even a minor fender bender, the child will not be exposed to the possibility of injury from an airbag. For more information on auto safety and airbag safety seehttp://www.nhtsa.dot.gov