Airbags are gas-inflated cushions that are built into the steering wheel, dashboard, door, seat, or roof of your car. The bag is folded up in a compartment until a crash sensor signals deployment. Usually, a crash sensor registers in a front-end collision that is over 10 miles per hour. When deploying, the thin nylon bag will fill with nitrogen gas and act as a cushion to protect the person from harmful impact. According to government statistics, in the years between 1997 and 2008, 27,840 lives were preserved due to airbags and about 2,500 people owe their lives to an airbag every year.

While this safety feature often helps more than it hurts, there are times when airbags can raise legal concern. Between 1990 and 2007, approximately 284 people were killed due to a faulty car airbag. 180 of these victims were children. Sometimes, an airbag can deploy when it isn’t necessary, and impair the driver, causing an accident. Other times, the impact of the airbag during a collision can cause serious injuries or fatalities. In other cases, an airbag will fail to deploy during an accident and a driver or passenger will sustain injuries that could have been prevented.

Airbags were originally designed for people between 5’8” and 5’10” weighing about 180 pounds. Men and women with smaller frames are at further risk to an airbag injury because they sit closer to the dashboard and are not large enough to soften the full impact of the airbag. It is best to position yourself ten inches from your steering wheel when driving, to prevent these injuries. Move your seat as far back as you can, while still having full reach of the gas and brake pedals. Also, if you need, you can recline your chair slightly to achieve the ten inch distance. Make sure that you are positioned so that a deployed airbag would hit your chest, not your head or neck.

Allegedly, airbags deploy with about 2,000 pounds of force at speeds over 200 miles per hour. Sometimes, they can cause severe injury to sensitive parts of the body, such as an eye. If aimed towards the eye, the heavy impact of an airbag can cause severe bruising to the eye socket, a rupture to the eyeball, or permanent blindness. Airbags can also be fatal to men and women with heart conditions, osteoporosis, Crone’s disease, or dialysis. Children and elderly people have higher risks of airbag injuries or deaths. It is imperative that parents enforce automobile policies and do not allow children to sit in the front seat of a car that is equipped with airbags. This safety feature is not compatible with rear facing car seats, and the impact from a deployed airbag could seriously injure or even kill an infant. Also, it is imperative to buckle up when riding in a vehicle. Airbags are designed to collaborate with seatbelts. The death rate for children not wearing seatbelts in the passenger seat of a car with an airbag is 84 percent higher than the average, according to a 2000 study by Harvard University.

Companies that manufacture airbags are supposed to ensure that their product will work for the benefit of the consumer. Some businesses will recall airbags after they have been issued. Currently, Honda is on the search for 640 faulty airbags in Accords, Acuras, and Pilots across the country. In 2004, the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration showed that 1.4 million automobile recalls were related to airbag safety problems. Older cars are more likely to have faulty airbags than newer models.

In order to avoid danger, make sure that your car is equipped with properly functioning airbags. If your airbag fails to deploy during a collision, or deploys at an unnecessary time, causing injury or fatality, you should seek legal help. You may be eligible to recieve compensation.