Airbag Myth Buster Guide
Airbags are an essential safety feature on cars, trucks, and SUVs that reduce impact from accidents and collisions in Stoughton, Brockton, and Randolph. They are designed to create a buffer between the vehicle’s hard surface and the passengers during a crash, effectively protecting occupants against debris, sharp objects, and a crash’s impact. Airbags can be deployed as fast as 200 miles per hour and open in a fraction of a second.
Car manufacturers are required to include airbags on each of their models, even though some people believe they may actually increase the risk of injury in a crash. In most cases where people were injured by airbags, they weren’t wearing their seatbelts or weren’t sitting in their cars properly. These injuries could have been prevented if the passengers had taken proper precautions. Overall, airbags provide a major advancement in car safety and have saved thousands of lives since being introduced into the market.
We’ve debunked several of the myths surrounding airbags, which we examine more closely for you, below:
Myth 1: Airbags Can Suffocate Passengers
Airbags could knock the wind out of you, but they won’t deprive you of oxygen during an accident. After being deployed, an airbag only remains inflated for a few seconds before decompressing. Several airbags are manufactured with pores in them anyway, so that air can still pass through even if the airbag is inflated.
Myth 2: Airbags Can Kill You
The number of deaths contributed to airbags are a fraction of the number of lives saved by them. In most cases where people were killed by airbags, passengers weren’t wearing their seatbelts correctly. Other deaths caused by airbags could have been avoided if passengers were sitting in their seats properly.
Myth 3: Airbags Can Kill Kids
Unfortunately, some children have been killed by airbags, but their deaths could have been avoided if they were properly secured inside the vehicle. Children sitting in rear-facing child seats in the front are at greater risk of injury from airbags.
Luckily, there are some simple precautions you can take to protect your children from an airbag’s impact. Always put your children in the backseat and strap them securely in their seatbelts. You should also keep rear-facing car seats out of an airbag’s pathway. If a child has to sit in the front seat, push the seat back as far as possible and instruct them not to lean forward.
Myth 4: Airbags are the Most Important Safety Feature on a Car
Airbags can mean the difference between life and death, but there are several safety features on a car that can prevent accidents from happening in the first place. Airbags by themselves aren’t enough to protect you and your passengers in an accident.
Staying Safe with Airbags
Airbags represent a major advancement in vehicle safety for drivers in Stoughton, Randolph, and Brockton. However, it is important to take precaution anytime you step foot inside of a vehicle and properly secure each occupant — especially young children. If you have any additional concerns, check out our Frequently Asked Questions about Airbags page.