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Few people should consider the option of installing on/off switches for the air bags in their vehicles. We know that air bags are an incredible lifesaving supplement to safety belts. With nearly two million deployments recorded, air bags are credited with saving more than 2,600 lives and preventing countless injuries.

This question is most often being asked by short-statured drivers who find themselves sitting close to their steering wheels. The greatest injury risk is within two to three inches of the air bag cover because that is where the force of a deploying air bag is greatest. By adding five inches to allow for the occupant's forward movement while the air bag is fully inflating, and another two-three inches for a greater margin of safety, drivers should maintain a 10-inch distance from the breastbone to the air bag - the general safety guideline recommended by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has found that minor searing adjustments help shorter drivers sit farther away from air bags. An IIHS study found that most drivers, even shorter ones, normally sit at least the recommended distance from the steering wheel. Standardizing volunteers' heights and ages to the distribution of the adult population, researchers estimate that about five percent of women sit less than 10 inches from the steering wheel. Even among shorter women (5'1/5" or shorter), two out of three still sit at least 10 inches away.

The larger the car, the study found, the more often the driver was sitting close to the steering wheel. "This may be because the steering wheel and accelerator pedal are about two inches farther apart in large cars than in small ones," explained IIHS Vice-President Susan A. Ferguson. "when the pedal is located well under the instrument panel, a driver has to sit closer to reach the accelerator."

A related IIHS study involved 13 drivers, all 4'8 to 5'2". Each was asked to sit in a comfortable driving position in 12 vehicles of varying sizes. Most chose positions at least 10 inches back from the steering, but three of the 13 failed to do so in one or two vehicles even after being encouraged to move as far back as possible.

All drivers who sat too close where at least nine inches from the wheel so, in most cases, "only minor adjustments were needed to eliminate the risk of a serious air bag injury," Ferguson said. She suggests not only pushing the sear back, if possible, but also tilting the steering wheel down and raising the seat up to achieve 10 inches and still drive comfortably.

"Very few belted drivers need to consider on/off switches," IIHS President Brian O'Neill says. "Always bucking up and sitting back and away from the steering wheel at least 10 inches means the air bag poses no significant risk. And for most drivers, achieving the 10-inch distance is easy. If you switch off a driver air bag, you obviously eliminate any risk from the bag itself, but you give up important potential protection because, even if you use a belt, in a serious frontal crash your face almost certainly will hit the steering wheel. This is especially true for drivers sitting close to the wheel."

On the passenger side, O'Neill explains, "airbags pose virtually no risk to adults who use safety belts," although infants and children can be at risk. (see next question)

In addition to those drivers who cannot sit back 10 inches from the steering wheel, there area three other situations where NHTSA may authorize the installation of a switch:

1. Infants in rear-facing infant seats who must be transported in the front seat.

Rear facing infant seats must never be placed in the front seat unless the air bag is turned off. NHTSA has elected to grant permission for an on/off switch in those instances where the owner must transport an infant in the front seat. The agency stresses that air bag-related risks for infants can be completely avoided by placing them in the back seat. Safety advocates note that the back seat has always been a much safer place for children, even before passenger-side air bags existed.

If a vehicle owner must transport a child in this age group in the front seat, the owner is eligible for an on/off switch for the passenger air bag. Since air bag performance varies among vehicle models, the owner may wish to consult the vehicle manufacturer for additional advice.

NHTSA says older children can be transported safely in the front if they are properly belted, if they do not lean forward, and if their seats are moved all the way back. The vast majority of all fatally injured children were completely unrestrained. But children sometimes sit or lean far forward and may slip out of their shoulder belts, putting themselves at risk. The simple act of leaning far forward to change the radio station can place even a belted child in danger.

See Question 3 for more information of medical conditions that may place you at risk.

George Washington University, at the request of NHTSA, convened a panel of physicians selected by professional organizations to review questions commonly asked about about medical conditions and air bags.

The conference issued a final report noting, "the benefits of air bags are well known to physicians who care for patients who have been in crashes," and compared air bags to other medical therapies well known risks and benefits. After considering a wide range of medical conditions, the physicians recommended turning off a driver's air bag if a safe sitting distance or position cannot be maintained by a driver because of scoliosis or achondroplasia. The panel also said the passenger-side air bag should be off for an occupant who cannot sit properly positioned because of scoliosis, or for a person who cannot reliably sit properly aligned because of Down syndrome and atlantoaxial instability. The physicians also noted that a passenger air bag might have to be turned off if an infant or child with a medical condition must ride in the front seat in order to be monitored.

Those who are concerned about special situations may be assured that air bags are still safe for the following conditions: use of pacemakers, supplemental oxygen and eyeglasses, median sternotomy, angina, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, asthma, breast reconstruction, mastectomy, previous back or neck surgery, previous facial reconstructive surgery or facial injury, hyperacusis, tinnitus, advanced age, osteogenesis imperfecta, osteoporosis and arthritis (if the person can sit at a safe distance from the air bag), previous ophthalmologic surgery, or a pregnancy whose conditions were checked by a specialist who determined the safety benefits of air bags outweigh the risks.

If you cannot certify that you, or any user of your vehicle are in one of these groups, you are not eligible for an on/off switch. Turning off your air bag will not benefit you or the users of your vehicle. Instead, it will increase the risk that you and the other users will suffer head, neck or chest injuries by violently striking the steering wheel or dashboard in a moderate to severe crash.

Through misuse, in most cases. NHTSA notes several times in its final rule that the deaths attributed to air bags have not been random. The common factor has been that the fatally injured person was too closes to the bag when it deployed. A properly belted rider who sits 10 inches away from the air bag will contact the device only after it has completely, or almost completely, inflated. The air bag then will cushion and protect that person from hitting the hard surfaces in the vehicle.

NHTSA's investigations of deaths to children show that 29 of the victims age 1 to 9 were completely unrestrained in the crash, and four of those were sitting on the laps of other occupants.

Eight others would have benefited from booster seats to help the lap/shoulder belt combination fit better. Some in this group had their shoulder belts behind them.

Another 12 victims were infants under the age of one who were in rear-facing infant seats only inches from the passenger air bag. Rear-facing infant seats must ALWAYS be placed in the back seat of a car with a passenger-side air bag.

As with the other children, most of the adult fatalities occurred to those who were not properly restrained. A few of the drivers did not use their seat belts correctly and the others believed to have been sitting too close to the steering wheel. Eighteen of the 35 drivers, and two of the three passengers, were totally unbelted. Two of the belted drivers had medical conditions that caused them to slump over the steering wheel immediately before the crash.

The vast majority of people can avoid being too close and can adjust their seating positions. Front seat adult passengers can sit a safe distance from their air bags. Infants and children aged 12 and under should sit in the back seat.

And everyone can buckle up. Pre-crash braking will cause an occupant who is not restrained properly to move forward and enter that danger zone where the air bag deployment forces are most severe.

The limited number of people who may not be able to make these changes may benefit from having the opportunity to turn off their air bags when necessary.

There are plenty of ways to answer this question. We could get technical and discuss inflators and squibs, and detail the microseconds of a collision. Or we could give the short version: "You crash, they poof!"

"Airbags are designed to keep your head, neck and chest from slamming into the dash, steering wheel, or windshield in a front-end crash. They are not designed to inflate in rear-end or rollover crashes or in most side crashes. Generally, air bags are designed to deploy in crashes that are equivalent to a vehicle crashing into a solid wall at 8-14 mph. Air bags most often deploy when a vehicle collides with another vehicle or with a solid object like a tree.

Air bags inflate when a sensor detects a front-end crash. The sensor sends an electric signal to start a chemical reaction that inflates the air bag with harmless nitrogen gas. All this happens faster than the blink of an eye. Air bags have vents, so they deflate immediately after cushioning you. They cannot smother you and they don't restrict your movement. The "smoke" you may have seen in a vehicle after an air bag demonstration is the nontoxic starch or talc that is used to lubricate the air bag."

Manufacturers have continued to refine the design and performance of air bags by working with the threshold speeds that trigger deployment, how fast and with what force they deploy, and even how they unfold as they inflate. The next major advance will be intelligent systems that deploy based on the circumstances at the time of the crash.

"Smart" or "advanced" air bags are in various stages of development by manufacturers. Special sensors will be able to tailor deployment of the air bag based on whether or not a seating position is occupied, the occupant's size or position in the seat, crash severity, or seat belt use. These intelligent designs should eliminate the current concerns.

While we wait for those advances to make their way to the marketplace, NHTSA has authorized "depowered" air bags which are installed in many 1998 vehicles. Called "depowered" because they deploy with less force than current air bags, they will reduce the risk of air bag-related injuries. However, even with depowered air bags, rear-facing child seats still should never be placed in the front seat and children are still safest in the back seat.

Some newer vehicles have seat belts specially designed to work together with air bags. In a severe crash, these belts will "give" to reduce the concentration of force on the occupant's chest. As the crash sequence continues, the air bag deploys and prevents the upper body from moving too far forward after the seat belts give. If the air bag is off, the chance of serious injury is present because the occupant is allowed to move forward and contact the vehicle interior.

If the seat belts were specially designed to work with an air bag, the owner should get additional information before making a decision to install a switch.

In order to get approval to have a switch installed, the NHTSA has established a four-step process designed to provide accountability and, perhaps most importantly, promote informed decision making by consumers. So far, with the rate of applications less than many anticipated, the IACP feels that this format was a wise decision.

First, the consumer must obtain an informational brochure and request form, both of which are available from NHTSA, at vehicle dealerships, repair shops, and other locations.

Second the consumer must certify on the request form that he or she has read the informational brochure and is a member of one of the four at-risk groups. That form must be returned to the NHTSA.

Third, NHTSA will review the information provided and, if indicated, will send an authorization letter to a dealership or repair shop for purchase and installation of the on/off switch.

No, even after clearing all the certification and authorization hurdles, consumers may have to do some hunting to find someone to install the switch. So far, news reports indicate dealers and repair shops are reluctant to install switches until some clarification of legal liability issues is made. "I don't think anyone in the after-market repair business is going to touch this one with a ten foot pole," said one. "You're safer with air bags than without."

Also the switches may not yet be available from the manufacturer for the vehicle in question.

Credits:

The information on this page was reprinted from the March/April issue of Operation Buckle Down Dispatch, a publication funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and published by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).