How to Avoid Car Airbag Injuries

Physical damage from car airbag deployment is an uncommon crash injury, but one well worth protecting yourself from - especially if you're of small stature, or you have small passengers in your car. Car airbags deploy explosively in a car accident, inflating in 20-30 milliseconds. Here's how to ensure you and your passengers won't be hurt by this universal car safety device in the event of an accident.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A car equipped with airbags
• A mindset for driving safety

1. Always wear your safety belt and shoulder harness. Don't rely on a car airbag alone to prevent crash injury. Car airbags inflate at incredibly high speed. Combine that with an unrestrained driver or passenger flying into it with equal force. Buckle up! And insist that your passenger do so as well.

2. Stay well back from the steering wheel. For drivers of any height, but particularly those under 5'3", put the seat back as far as you can comfortably do so. Your arms should have to extend almost fully to grip the wheel. This will keep your head and chest at the farthest distance possible from the airbag.

3. Keep both hands on the wheel at the ten and two o'clock position, just like you learned in driver's education. That way, if your airbag deploys, your arms will go to your sides, not forward into your face!

4. Resist the urge to lean forward over the wheel when you drive. This is common, especially when you're looking for a street address. Which is also a moment of high risk for being in a rear-end collision. Some airbags deploy even in low-speed collisions in parking lots and on side streets.

5. Make sure children are in rear-facing and appropriately secured car seats - in the back seat. Children and infants are at highest risk for head injuries and death from car airbag deployment.

6. If you have passengers in the back seat, do not hang dry cleaning or anything else from hooks near the car roof. If side airbags deploy, your passenger risks injury from flying objects such as coat hangers.

7. Car airbags are meant to save lives, and they do. But occasionally they can deploy when they shouldn't, or when they aren't needed. It's a rare car injury, and fatalities have been few. By keeping well back from the steering wheel, and wearing your seat belt, you'll minimize your chances of airbag injury. Drive safely!

[vixxen]

on 10/29/2009 This article is really good and it's well written. Thanks for the advice on how to avoid airbag injury. 5* and recommend

[tracysmith159]

on 10/29/2009 Good article keeping safe in a car incase of an accident.