Air Bag Safety: The Essential Message
New vehicles have air bags for front-seat passengers, and when used in conjunction with lap/shoulder belts, air bags work extremely well. Air bags do not work with rear-facing child seats that are used with infants. Air bags could seriously injure or even kill an unbuckled child or adult who is sitting too close to the air bag or who is thrown toward the dash during emergency braking. In a crash, the air bag inflates very quickly at approximately 200 mph. It could hit anything close to the dash with enough force to cause severe injuries or even death. The back of a rear-facing child seat sits very close to the dash; the seat could be struck with enough force to cause serious or even fatal injuries to a baby. The rear seat is the safest place for children of any age to ride. An infant in a rear-facing child seat must ride in the back seat if your vehicle has a passenger-side air bag. Babies under 1 year and 20 pounds should always ride in a rear-facing seat.
Essential information to remember:
- Infants (under age 1 and 20 pounds) in rear-facing child safety seats should NEVER ride in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger-side air bag.
- Young children and infants should always ride properly secured in age and size appropriate child safety seats. NEVER place an infant facing front.
- Children too large for child safety seats should always wear both lap AND shoulder belts. Children ages 12 and under should ride buckled up in the back seat.
- Adults should sit at least 10 to 12 inches from the air bag cover.
Make sure everyone in your vehicle is properly secured. Know how to properly install your child safety seat, and read both the owner’s manual for your vehicle and the instructions for your child safety seat.
