airbag stats

[Guest guest]

Here is some stat. information from a national website, Insurance Institute

for Highway Safety.

http://www.highwaysafety.org/safety_facts/airbags/stats.htm

http://www.highwaysafety.org

updated Nov. 8, 1999

>> * The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that more

>>than 4,750 people are alive today because of their airbags.

* Since 1990, 146 deaths reportedly have been caused by airbags inflating

in low severity crashes. These deaths include 56 drivers, 6 adult

passengers (a belted 98-year-old female, an unbelted 88-year-old female, an

unbelted 79-year-old female, an unbelted 57-year-old male, an unbelted

66-year-old female, and a belted 64-year-old female), 66 children between

the ages of 1 and 11, and 18 infants (15 restrained in rear-facing infant

seats and 3 on adult passengers' laps).

* Of the 66 children killed by passenger airbags, 53 are believed to have

been unbelted; 6 are believed to have been using lap belts only; 2 were in

forward-facing child restraints that were not properly secured to the

vehicle; and 4 were thought to be using lap/shoulder belts. Belt use is

unknown for the other child. Almost all crashes involved pre-impact braking

and/or children sitting on front passenger laps, so that the children were

close to the instrument panel at the time of deployment.

* Of the 56 drivers killed by airbags (42 females, 14 males), 36 are

believed to have been unbelted, 19 are believed to have been using

lap/shoulder belts (5 of these may have misused their belts, 2 of these

were unconscious and slumped over their steering wheels so they were on top

of their airbags, 1 used the shoulder belt only; 1 used the lap belt only).

Belt use is unknown for the other driver.

* The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that the

combination of an airbag plus a lap/shoulder belt reduces the risk of

serious head injury by 81 percent, compared with a 60 percent reduction for

belts alone.

Well, I'm not implying that there are no risks in having the airbag.

Something may very well happen, but seeing how many people were saved by

the airbag versus how many died from it... this is why I'm keeping mine.

Most importantly - just remember to always have your seat belt on, that

makes a world of difference.

Irene