New Driving Habits - for the airbag danger
World Wide Air Bag Safety Until 2012
Seven Steps everyone needs to take: Today, all cars are manufactured with at least two airbags - one for the driver and one for the front seat passenger. All people, drivers and passengers, need to change their driving habits and use the following six points to ride safely in front of air bags.
The government has given auto makers until 2012 to develop and install "safe" (or "Advanced") airbags. Once those new "Safe" airbags are developed, field tested and proven safe, these safety measures may not be necessary. But in the meantime, they can help you minimize airbag injuries or fatalities. Recent research has shown that all drivers and passengers risk severe injury to their hands, arms, heads and shoulders from airbags unless these safety measures are followed. These apply to all drivers and passengers (unless you have turned off your airbags).
1. Grip your steering wheel at the sides or bottom, not higher than the 10 and 2 o'clock positions, when you drive.
Never drive with your hands at the top of your steering wheel or with your hands, thumbs, fingers or arms resting on the center of your steering wheel.
2. Develop the habit of turning the
steering wheel without crossing your arm in front of the
airbag cover.
3. Do not blow your horn at the
onset of an accident.
4. Passengers should never place hands, fingers, thumbs or arms on the
dashboard near the plastic air bag module cover. In case
of an accident, never brace yourself with your hands and
arms on the dashboard.
(Dr Wm Smock, a leading airbag injury research physician, indicates that these habits may protect your arms, wrists, hands, and fingers from being broken, pulverized or amputated by your airbag)
5. Push the seat, either driver or passenger, back as far as
possible. The driver needs to keep at least 10 inches
back from the airbag and horn cover (12 inches per Dr.
Smock). Pedal extenders
can help a driver reach the pedals if driving with an
extended toe is uncomfortable, but in many cases, seeing the road is impossible when
a shorter driver's seat is moved back. The passenger seat may also
be tilted back slightly for
added protection. Tilting the seat back too far can be dangerous because the
body can slide underneath the restraints in an accident.
6. Children and frail passengers should always be in the back seat, properly
restrained by a seatbelt or car seat. If not possible, a
passenger side air bag on/off switch may be installed to
shut off the front seat passenger side air bag.
7. Never place a rear facing infant car seat in the front
seat with the infant's
head toward an active dashboard air bag.
An airbag switch can eliminate the airbag hazard, but in all cases, seatbelts are the best protection and developing a habit of buckling them will help insure they are there when needed. Seat belt pre-tensioners also help reduce the risk of airbag injury since they will prevent you or your passengers from accelerating forward at high speed in the early part of a front end accident. Otherwise your own body's forward speed and momentum will put you too close to the airbag as it detonates (at 200 mph and with about 2000 lbs of force). According to research by GM, this force reaches about six times what the human body can survive if you are close to the airbag when it detonates.
Click
here: 
to see the full research report.
These stickers were developed by Dr Smock, to help warn drivers and passengers of about airbag danger (click on the image to see the full photo):
Check the box on our contact sheet, fill in your address, and we can have them sent to you.
