Air bags vs. Seat belts

 
If you had to choose only one safety measure which would use choose:  The Airbag or the Seat belt? 

If I had to guess most would choose an Air bag because of it's "simplicity."  You don't have to worry about "putting it on" each time you get into a car, you don't have to worry about your clothes getting wrinkled from it and a police officer can't see that you "aren't wearing it."



I cannot say I wear my seat belt 100% of the time (if you are a police officer please ignore I just said that.)  I wish I could say I did but more importantly I wish I did wear my seat belt 100% of the time.  I wish that my car would not turn on until my seat belt was in place....but that is not the case and I will find myself, if I do not have to drive very far, listening to that annoying "dinging" sound because "I'm only going down the road."  I told myself...I have an air bag so I'll be "okay" these few miles. 

Well, not so true.  I never realized that the air bag was to work IN CONJUNCTION with the seat belt.  I also never realized that without your seat belt on that the air bag could actually kill you.  According to safercar.gov air bags that have caused deaths were not height, weight, sex or age related....the one factor they had in common:  too close to the air bag.

I also learned that you need to be 10" from your breastbone to the position of the air bag.  So I am off to my car with a tape measure to see where I "fit" into this.  Experiment: 10" from the air bag and...my feet cannot reach the pedals enough to drive safely.  Now what?  I am not going to go buy a new car that has the adjustments for my pedals.  Back to the Internet to do more research.  What I learn from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

"Air bags are designed to work with seat belts, not replace them. 
In fact, if you don’t wear your seat belt, you could be thrown into a rapidly opening frontal air bag; a movement of such force could injure or even kill you."

The seat belt will keep you from being thrown into the airbag which allows us "height challenged" people to be safe if we cannot be the suggested 10" from the air bag.  It's not the best solution for us height challenged people but it will keep us safer when we are behind the wheel.  (If you are in the passenger seat you do not need to worry about it...get 10" from the dash).

So now my thoughts have changed...those few miles I am going that I tolerated that annoying "dinging" sound because my air bag would save me....have changed.  When I get behind the wheel now and I hear that dinging sound it will remind me of this information and I hope now it will remind you also.

All children should be in the back seat and if you do not have one the air bag should be shut off if possible.  Next time we will discuss children and air bags.

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