The Ohio Department of Public Safety records indicate that more than 292,000 car crashes were reported throughout the state in 2011. Furthermore, nearly 54,000 collisions resulted in airbag deployment and the number of fatal accidents with a deployed airbag was higher than those without an airbag. Initially designed as a supplement for seatbelts in the 1970s, airbags have now become standard in most all modern vehicles. While there was only one type of airbag when first introduced the frontal airbag recent developments in automotive safety devices have resulted in auto makers designing many different types of airbags and then incorporating them into vehicles to help reduce the amount of trauma that occupants can often experience during a crash. Most recently one car manufacturing company introduced the pedestrian airbag which is designed to protect persons outside of the vehicle during a collision. Some types of airbags include:
- Side airbags
- Knee airbags
- Motorcycle airbags
- Curtain airbags
Common Airbag Injuries
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, between 1990 and 2007 approximately more than 284 airbag related fatalities were confirmed. However, the number of injuries caused by an airbag is not precisely known. Typically an airbag deploys within 15 to 30 milliseconds of a crash and within 60 to 80 milliseconds it has been fully inflated. If an airbag inflates too slowly or too quickly it could lead to injury, and an airbag may sometimes deploy unexpectedly due to manufacturing defects. Some common types of airbag injuries include:- Rashes
- Burns
- Eye Injuries
- Cuts
- Bruises
- Brain Injuries
- Internal Organ Damage
- Breathing Problems
Airbag Safety Tips
Although airbags are meant to protect all vehicle occupants, some people may choose to disable their airbag. In fact, it is recommended that an airbag be disabled wherever a child safety seat is placed within a vehicle, this includes side airbags, knee airbags, and so on. Some other ways to prevent airbag injuries include:- Situate front seats as far away from the airbag deployment area as possible.
- All children should be seated in the appropriate child safety seats, including the use of a booster seat.
- Children under the age of 12 should be seated in the backseat.
- Every person inside the vehicle should wear a seatbelt. Airbags are meant to be a supplementary safety feature, not the only means of protection.
