Brace yourself…or don’t. Airbag injuries are serious and can be fatal, and many injuries can be prevented if drivers and passengers don’t put their hands and arms in front of them to brace during impact. Thumbs and fingers can be torn off and arms can receive multiple bone fractures. People can also receive serious eye, face, head and brain injuries when airbags deploy.
Many injuries and fatalities can also be prevented if people of small stature, including children, the aged, and the infirm, avoid sitting in seats with airbags. Airbags are designed for people who are 5′8" tall and weigh 180 pounds. Unfortunately, smaller drivers, often women, must sit closer to the airbag in order to reach the steering wheel, and there have been numerous cases in which the airbag was the primary cause of serious injury, not the car collision.
Airbags also malfunction. When this happens, they either go off for no reason, or they fail to release when they are needed. When airbags release, they do so at more than 200 miles per hour with greater than 1200 pounds of force. Even when drivers don’t brace and don’t get their fingers caught by the exploding airbag, they risk concussions, brain damage, and even suffocation if they can’t get away from the bag.
There are some steps you can take to protect yourself and your loved ones from airbag injury:
- All children, aged, and smaller people should ride in back where there are no airbags.
- Use the airbag "off" switch if smaller passengers ride in front.
- Passengers and drivers should never brace themselves against the dashboard or steering wheel during an accident.
- Drivers should drive with their hands on the sides or bottom of the steering wheel…never the top.
- Don’t cross your arm over the steering wheel when turning.
- Don’t honk the horn at the beginning of an accident.
- Push your seat as far back as possible when driving.
- Check with the CPSC at www.cpsc.gov to find out about recalls involving your auto’s airbags
If you are injured by an airbag, defective airbag, or faulty installation, contact a personal injury attorney immediately.
Tags: airbag failure, airbag failure injury, airbag injury, airbag malfunction, brain injury, car accident, multiple bone fractures, traffic accident