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The Facts About Kids & Airbags

Airbags are a success. They've inflated in millions of crashes, saved thousands of lives, and prevented many more serious injuries. But like some medications and other public health successes, airbags can cause unintended adverse effects. Nearly all of these are minor injuries like bruises and abrasions that are more than offset by the lives airbags are saving.

But some airbag injuries are serious, and they include some deaths. These occur when someone is on top of, or very close to, an airbag as it begins inflating. Infants in rear-facing restraints and unbelted or unrestrained children in the front seats of vehicles with passenger airbags are at the greatest risk.

You can eliminate this risk, and you can almost always do it without the trouble of getting permission from the federal government for an on/off switch for your passenger airbag. Begin by putting children in the back and using appropriate restraints for youngsters' sizes, as the law requires in all 50 states.

You can eliminate the risk of airbag inflation injury without getting an on/off switch for the passenger airbag. Restrain children in a back seat.

DON'T DO THIS IF THERE IS A PASSENGER AIRBAG

Starting with a baby's first trip, put the newborn in the safest place -- a rear-facing restraint in the center of the back seat. Make sure the restraint is tightly secured with a safety belt and the child is buckled snugly into the restraint. At first when baby can't support its head, you may need to put rolled towels or foam inserts around the head to keep it from flopping from side to side.

Remember it's safer in back compared with the front, even without passenger airbags, so the back seat is always preferred for infants. Many parents want to put their new babies in the front where they're easier to see. It may be tempting to put a baby right beside the driver when the driver is the only other person in the vehicle. But don't because it isn't the safest place.

Don't ever put an infant in a rear-facing restraint in the front seat of a vehicle that has a passenger airbag. And don't simply turn the restraint around to face forward. Only if a vehicle has been equipped with a switch to turn off the passenger airbag is it okay to put an infant restraint up front.

If there's an on/off switch for your passenger airbag, you do have to remember to switch off the bag if an infant is riding in front and check the airbag's status every trip. And remember the back is always safer.

A BOOSTER SEAT CAN HELP UNTIL...

Infants grow very quickly, and the restraints toddlers use differ from those for infants. Rear-facing restraints are for babies up to about a year old. Whey they outgrow these restraints, infants should graduate to child seats that face forward. These provide excellent protection when used properly and, like infant restraints, should be put in a back seat, not the front.

Be sure to secure your child in a restraint according to the instructions. This may not be easy because some vehicle belts, for example, may not be compatible with the restraint you're trying to use. It may be difficult to get the adult safety belt to hold the restraint tightly in place. Special clips available with child restraints and from car dealers sometimes are needed, so check your owner's manual for instructions. Some vehicles have built-in child restraints, making them easy to use correctly. Whatever type of restraint you use, remember to buckle your child into it.

...A CHILD CAN USE AN ADULT BELT

Soon toddlers become big kids who outgrow their child restraints and can use the adult lap/shoulder belts provided in vehicles. A child may need a special booster seat at first. These do just what the name implies. They boost smaller children higher so they fit better and more comfortably into adult safety belts.

Once children graduate to adult belts, remember proper use. Don't put a safety belt's shoulder portion behind a child or under the arm. Don't let a child do this, either, because it compromises protection. If necessary, get a booster seat to help fit the shoulder belt comfortably across the child.

The lap belt is equally important. Position it low and snug across a child's hips. Don't let it rise over the abdomen where the belt itself could become a hazard.

Make sure older children, just like infants, ride restrained in a back seat. Only if there are too many children for all of them to ride in back should one of them be allowed up front with a passenger airbag. Then it's essential to adjust the seat so it's as far back as possible and, again, make sure the child is secured in a properly fitting lap/shoulder belt. A child riding in front also should sit back in the seat, not perched on the edge or leaning forward to, for example, fiddle with radio dials.

BEST PLACE FOR TODDLER IS IN BACK

Airbags don't have to pose a risk for kids, provided they're not positioned too close to an airbag - or positioned so they could get too close. Pay attention to this hazard because it's serious, and then take the right steps to eliminate it:

• Proper restraint use comes first. Riding unrestrained or improperly restrained in a motor vehicle always has been the greatest hazard for children.
• The safest place for kids to ride is in back. This was true before airbags, and now it's doubly true. Infants and children riding in back seats cannot be in the paths of inflating airbags.
• Don't use a rear-facing restraint in the front seat. The only exception is if there's an on/off switch for the passenger airbag.
• When it comes to buckling up, what's good for kids is good for adults, too. So use your own lap/shoulder belts. Belts provide important protection in crashes. Plus they keep people in the best position to be protected by their airbags. Another reason to use your safety belts is to set a good example for your children.

Airbags plus lap/shoulder belts are the best protection for most people, but this system is designed primarily for adults. Younger people need special restraints, and following the simple precautions outlined here can be sure optimum protection for everybody.

Should I get an on/off switch for my passenger airbag?
The most likely answer is no.

The federal government has established procedures and criteria for permitting people to get airbag on/off switches. These are needed in only a few cases when airbags may present a risk of serious injury.

Before you consider getting an on/off switch for a passenger airbag, remember the best way to eliminate injury risk among children is to ensure they ride in back. The back seat is safer anyway.

So when should parents consider getting on/off switches? Rarely is this necessary - for example, when an infant with medical problems requires observation and the driver is the only other person in the car. Then a baby would need to ride in front, and a passenger airbag would present a risk. Of course, paying attention to a baby is distracting and involves its own risks.

Another example is parents who often transport too many small children to put them all in back - and, even in this case, an on/off switch isn't necessarily the best option. An older child may ride up front if the seat is all the way back and the child is securely buckled in a lap/shoulder belt and sitting back in the seat. Leaning forward to, for example, fiddle with radio dials can put a child at risk from an inflating airbag. Only if there's concern about keeping a child sitting back in the seat would a parent need to consider getting an on/off switch for the airbag.