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Kids and Airbags
Airbags have inflated in millions of crashes, saved thousands of lives, and
prevented many serious injuries. But like some other public health successes, airbags can
cause unintended results. Nearly all of these were minor injuries like bruises or
abrasions that are more than offset by the lives saved. But some airbag injuries have been
serious, and included 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.
- DO put children in the back and use the appropriate restraints for youngsters'
sizes, as the law requires in all 50 states.
- DO make sure the restraint is tightly secured with a safety belt and the child is
buckled snugly into the restraint. Put rolled towels or foam inserts around an infant's
head to keep it from flopping from side to side.
- DO secure your child in a restraint according to the instructions.
- DO use a booster seat for toddlers who have outgrown their child restraints and
can use the adult lap/shoulder belts provided in vehicles.
- DO position the lap belt low and snug across a child's hips. Don't let it rise
over the abdomen where the belt itself could become a hazard.
- DO make sure older children ride restrained in a back seat. Only if there are too
many children for all to ride in back should one of them be allowed up front with a
passenger airbag.
- DON'T put an infant in a rear-facing restraint in the front seat of a vehicle
that has a passenger airbag. Only if a vehicle has been equipped with a switch to turn off
the passenger airbag is it appropriate to put an infant restraint up front.
- DON'T put a safety belt's shoulder portion behind a child or under the arm. It
compromises protection. If necessary, use a booster seat.
Remember:
- If there's an on/off switch for your passenger airbag, remember to switch off the bag if
an infant is riding in front and check the airbag's status every trip.
- Riding unrestrained or improperly restrained in a motor vehicle is the greatest hazard
for children.
- The safest place for kids to ride is in back.
- When it comes to buckling up, what's good for kids is good for adults, too. So use your
own lap shoulder belt.
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