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Air bags are standard
equipment in almost all new cars and are designed to supplement the
protection provided by safety belts in frontal crashes. Federal safety
standards require that all new passenger cars and light trucks be equipped
with both driver and passenger side air bags by 1999. While air bags have a
good overall safety record and have saved an estimated 1200 lives as of the
end of 1995, they pose several risks for children. An infant in a
rear-facing safety seat must never be placed in the front seat of a motor
vehicle with a passenger-side air bag. During a forward impact the rapidly
inflating air bag could strike the safety seat with enough force to
seriously injure or kill the infant. Infants under one year of age and
under 20 pounds must ride in a rear-facing safety seat placed in the back
seat of the vehicle, especially if the vehicle is equipped with a
passenger-side air bag.
Forward-facing safety
seats, as used with toddlers and older children, typically place children at
least several inches closer to the dashboard than the normal adult seating
position. Therefore, the safest practice is to place all child safety seats
in the back seat of the vehicle. If it is absolutely necessary to place a
forward-facing safety seat in the front of a vehicle with a passenger-side
air bag, the vehicle seat should be adjusted as far back as possible from
the dashboard.
Air bags pose special
hazards for any children who ride unrestrained or incorrectly restrained in
the front seat. Like all occupant, children should always be properly
restrained in safety seats or safety belts. Unfortunately, surveys indicate
that as many as 35 percent of young children ride unrestrained. Pre-crash
braking may throw an unrestrained child against the dashboard at or near the
passenger air bag location. When this happens, the inflating air bag and
its plastic cover can violently impact the out-of-place child with such
force that it can injure or even kill the child. The safest place for all
children is correctly restrained in the back seat of the vehicle.
To ensure that you
children ride safely, remember these rules:
-
The back seat is the
safest place for children of any age to ride.
-
Never put an infant
(less than one year old) in the front of a car with a passenger-side air
bag.
-
Infants must always
ride in the back seat facing the rear of the car.
-
Make sure everyone
is buckled up. Unbuckle occupants can be hurt or killed by an air bag.
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The information in this article provided
by:
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration |
