Air Bag Safety: Children & Air Bags Don't Mix
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In this issue of the "Insurance Reporter," we focus on air bag safety. According to the NHTSA, air bags reduce deaths in frontal crashes among drivers by about 30 percent and among passengers by 27 percent. Air bags, however, can be dangerous to smaller individuals, pregnant women and the elderly. Read on and find out how you can prevent air bag injuries and use these safety devices to their best advantage. We appreciate your continued business and look forward to serving you.
Regards,
Karl D. Susman
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| Air Bag Safety Drivers should have all children sit in the backseat wearing a safety belt. Infants should be placed in rear-facing car seats and put in the backseat. Small adults should move the seat back so that their breastbone is at least 10 inches from the air bag cover. If this is not possible, air bag switches can be installed so that the vehicle owner has the option of turning the bag off or on, depending on the situation. Infants in rear-facing safety seats on the passenger side can be severely injured because their heads are in the direct path of an inflating air bag. If your airbag is stolen or it deploys, you must get a new one, but you will be reimbursed under the comprehensive portion of your auto insurance policy. More |
Airbag Safety FAQs
 Air bags -- when combined with lap and shoulder safety belts -- have saved many lives and prevented many injuries in motor vehicle crashes. Recently, there have been questions raised about the safety of air bags. The facts, however, speak for themselves. There have been over 800,000 air bag deployments, saving over 1,500 lives. To date, completed investigations of air bag crashes show that many of the air bag injuries were due to the driver sitting too close to the air bag module or passengers riding unbuckled or incorrectly secured. The latter includes infants in rear-facing child safety seats that are placed in the front seat or small children incorrectly placed in a lap/shoulder safety belt. In 1996 alone, 600 lives were saved by air bags. During this same period, eight children died -- all of whom were incorrectly restrained or not restrained at all. Many people who transport children in cars do not understand how air bags work. They fail to fully appreciate the threat passenger-side air bags pose to young children and do not realize why they must take steps to protect children up to 12 years of age. The bottom line: children and air bags do not mix. Air bags could seriously injure or even kill children who are in the front seat. More
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Airbag Theft and Fraud
 Deflating a growing crime trend Insurance industry statistics show that approximately 50,000 airbags are stolen each year, resulting in an annual loss of more than $50 million to vehicle owners and their insurers. Airbags have quickly become a primary accessory on the black market for stolen vehicle parts. A new airbag, which retails for approximately $1,000 from a car dealer, costs between $50 - $200 on the black market. Because of their portability, airbags can be easily removed and installed as "new" by unscrupulous collision repair shops. These dishonest operators will then charge the vehicle owner or their insurer the full price for the replacement, thus committing insurance fraud. Fraud and Theft Prevention Tips
The National Insurance Crime Bureau suggests the following prevention tips to help avoid airbag fraud and theft. Use a reputable automobile collision repair shop that employs ASE-certified mechanics. Inspect the invoice to ensure the repair shop purchased the airbag from a manufacturer, dealer or recycler. If possible, inspect the airbag prior to installation. If new, it should be packaged in a sealed container from the manufacturer. The trim cover over the steering column should be the same color as the remaining trim interior. If not, it is an indication that the original airbag has been replaced. When you turn on your vehicle's ignition, a red SRS (Supplemental Restraint System) indicator should light up and flash in the instrument panel display, indicating the airbag system is activated. No SRS light indicates a problem with the airbag system that could result in no airbag activation. More |
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AIR BAG SAFETY
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Los Angeles, CA 90049 (310) 820-5200
(877) 411-5200 (toll free) |
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