ARE AIRBAGS DANGEROUS?
2 September 1997
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE)
calls for caution!
A majority of manufacturers nowadays supply vehicles with airbags protecting
the driver and also, in many vehicles, the front seat passenger. Together with
safety-belts, airbags are part of the restraint system protecting vehicle occupants
in case of a frontal collision, or a lateral collision - for those vehicles which are
equipped with side airbags. If correctly used, the restraint system could
effectively prevent or reduce injuries in accidents. Unfortunately, it can also be
dangerous if misused.
American statistics show that since 1986, when they began appearing in
U.S. vehicles, airbags saved more than 1,500 lives. These statistics also have a
darker side: there were about thirty incidents in which children or small adults
were killed by airbags.
"The technology of airbags is being developed to prevent such tragic events
in future vehicles" said Mr. Jan Jerie, the Secretary of the Working Party on the
Construction of Vehicles (WP.29) of the United Nations Economic Commission for
Europe (UN/ECE), responsible for the safety of road vehicles. Four basic rules
must be observed when using the present vehicles:
- The driver and the passengers, including children, shall always be buckled
by safety-belts before the vehicle is driven off. Unbuckled children or even some
adults can be hurt or killed by an airbag;
- Position your seat comfortably at the largest possible distance from the
airbag; never drive close to the steering wheel or, as a passenger, sit close to the
dashboard with an airbag;
- The rear seat is the safest place for children of any age to ride;
- Never put a rearward-facing child seat (those used for infants) in the front
seat of a car with a passenger-side airbag.
This last warning refers to the most extreme danger of present technology
airbags. In an accident the airbag is deployed from its compartment with a speed
exceeding 300 km/h. This speed is a condition inherent to its efficiency, but it is
also the reason for its dangers. The child sitting in a rearward-facing child
restraint would be killed by the power of an airbag in an accident in which it would
otherwise be unharmed. A child or a small adult sitting close to an airbag or being
unrestrained by a safety-belt could be killed in the same minor accident. It is
expected that future airbags would be smart and would recognize the situations
in which they should be disabled or deployed with a lower speed.
The joint action of Governments, manufacturers and consumers in the
ECE region is making the public aware of the airbag's properties. Vehicles and
child restraint seats are being marked to indicate the extreme danger of airbags to
children in rearward-facing child restraints mistakingly placed in front of an airbag.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) in the context
of its work on road vehicles' safety, has elaborated more than 100 Regulations.
Approvals to these Regulations are marked by the letter E followed by a number
placed in a circle on the various parts of the vehicles, which are e.g. windshields,
safety-belts, children's seats, brakes, lighting, etc. These Regulations have been
adopted by most of the UN/ECE Member States. The UN/ECE has just endorsed
detailed instructions for users of vehicles equipped with airbags. These
instructions request vehicle manufacturers to mention in the owner's manual of the
vehicle, as a minimum, the following text in an official ECE language,
supplemented by the corresponding text in the language of the country where the
vehicle is to be registered: "EXTREME HAZARD! Do not use a rearward-facing
child restraint on a seat protected by an airbag in front of it!" The text shall be
accompanied by the pictogram mounted in the vehicle:
Furthermore, rearward-facing child seats will have a permanently attached
label, visible in the installed position, with the warning: "EXTREME HAZARD - Do
not use in passenger seats equipped with airbags"; this label shall be provided in
the language of the country where the child seat is sold.
"We are following the evolution of the situation very carefully. Our only
means of action is to raise the awareness of vehicle users and this is an area
where the media have an important role to play. After all, it is the lives of our
children which are at stake!" concludes Mr. Jerie.