History

Since 1990, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has recorded 175 fatalities as a result of an air bag deployment. To date, 104 of these deaths have been children, while the remaining 71 have been adults. With more than 3.3 million air bag deployments and more than 6,377 lives saved and countless injuries prevented, the benefits of air bags are dramatic. Still, these 175 fatalities should be examined. (See State-by-State breakdown)

Children

Infants placed in the front seat of a car in a rear-facing child seat have accounted for 19 deaths. Placing a child in the front seat of a car in a rear-facing child seat carries serious risks because the child's head is inches away from the compartment where an air bag is housed. Since air bags deploy at 200 miles per hour, an infant is at serious risk should an air bag deploy. Five children were riding in forward facing child safety seats. In one case, the child was not restrained within the child safety seat. In another case, it is unknown if the child was restrained in the child safety seat. In the other three cases, the children were restrained, but the child safety seats were not secured to the car.

The other 86 children who died during air bag deployments were front seat passengers. The NHTSA has concluded that 76 of these children were totally unrestrained or improperly restrained, including ten who were only wearing their lap belts, effectively negating the advantages of a safety belt. Two five year olds, weighing under 40 pounds, were wearing both lap and shoulder belts. The correct restraint for children of this size is a booster seat in the back seat. Two other instances was an 11 year old boy was belted and leaning forward at the time the air bag deployed and an 11 month old girl who was standing on the lap of a driver.

Adults

Failure to wear a safety belt was also an issue with most of the 64 adult drivers killed during an air bag deployment. Of those drivers killed, 46 of them were either totally unrestrained or improperly restrained when the air bag deployed. Safety belt use of one is unknown. The seven adult passenger fatalities involved five unbelted passengers.

For the 18 drivers who were properly restrained, NHTSA's investigations indicate that eight of these drivers were small stature females who were positioned close to the steering wheel, where an air bag is housed. Two other fatalities involved men, who both lost consciousness before impact, moving their bodies closer to the air bag compartment.

One solution: Upgraded Safety Belt and Child
Passenger Safety Laws and Enforcement

These fatalities have predominantly occurred when the children and adults were positioned precariously close to the compartment where the air bag was housed. Most of the children killed were not secured by safety belts and were thrown forward during pre-crash breaking, placing their heads just inches from the air bag when it deployed. Therefore, the best defense during an air bag deployment is to be wearing a safety belt.

On average, states that have passed strong belt laws have increased adult belt use by 15 percentage points. And that pushes up child belt use. For example, when Louisiana passed a strong adult belt law, child restraint use (child safety seats and seat belts) increased from 45 percent to 82 percent in just two years. Increasing adult belt use by passing and enforcing strong adult seat belt laws is the most effective way to reduce the staggering number of children who are dying needlessly each year. In fact, a study published in the journal Pediatrics found adults who use seat belts are three times more likely to buckle up kids.

Strengthening adult safety belt laws and enforcement will lead to increased safety belt use by adults and children. The ensuing result will be fewer traffic-related injuries and fatalities, including those caused by air bags.

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
12/01/00

For more information, contact the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign, National Safety Council, 1025 Conn. Ave., NW, Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20036; (202) 625-2570 (tel.); (202) 822-1399 (fax); E-mail: airbag@nsc.org.