Understanding Child Safety in Vehicles with Airbags
Today front airbags are a standard feature in all new vehicles. They have saved thousands of lives, and have become safer over the years. Most new vehicles feature crash sensors that detect front end collisions and trigger the release of airbags. In a blink of an eye, an airbag can deploy from those sensors, and immediately after, start to deflate, but because they are safe for us, are they really safe for our children?
There are two types of air bags. Front airbags and side-impact air bags, which in recent years have become more common and affordable through vehicle manufactures. A side-impact airbag deploys from across both the front and rear side windows to prevent occupants from hitting their heads, and shield them from oncoming derbies in an accident. They can prevent you from being ejected when a vehicle rolls over.
Because airbags were designed to prevent series injuries or even death in the case of a vehicle accident, they don't necessarily apply to our children. According to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, automobile crashes still cause 1 in 3 fatalities amongst children under the age of thirteen. This rate has dropped 35% since 1975, and including a 3% rate in 2007.
Children's heights and weights vary by age. The National Highway Safety Administration recommends all children should be kept in the rear seat, it's the safest place, whether your vehicle has airbags or not. Rear facing child safety seats should never be placed in the front seat of a vehicle. Children weighing less than eighty pounds need to be in a booster seat or a front facing child safety seat no matter their age.
Most cases of death and series injury in children involving airbags are due to improper use of seatbelts. Seatbelts, when worn by a child, do not fit correctly. The shoulder belt is too big, and as a result, a child will tuck it behind their back when traveling. Depending on the child's height, their face and neck are aimed at becoming the target of a deploying airbag.
We never know when we'll be involved in an automobile accident. Airbags saves lives; it's when we don't place our children securely in their seats do they risk the odds of becoming injured by our vehicle's safety features. So remember, whether you're out for a test ride or to visit grandma, keep your kids in the backseat, buckled in safely, and airbags won't seem so scary anymore.
