Side Impact Airbags

Broadside car impacts kill up to 10,000 people each year, and injure close to a million. The injuries and deaths resulting from this accident could be prevented with a simple device that is not found in most vehicles today- side impact airbags.

An estimated three and a half million-passenger vehicles are involved in side impact collisions. The deaths and injuries that result makes this one of the most serious and deadly types of crashes that a driver can face. There are, however, no federal regulations requiring side airbags in vehicles. The regulations that do exist for side safety can be met by other means.

In a side impact collision, a person's body or head can hit the doorframe, window, the incoming vehicle or an outside object such as a tree, regardless of seat belt use. Airbags would prevent this, keeping the body or head from making contact with any hard surfaces. In testing, manufacturers claim the force to the body was reduced enough to mean the difference between life and death.

Brian O'Neill, head of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, states, "We at the institute are strong fans of side impact airbags. Side impact airbags can provide an energy-absorbing buffer between that collapsing door and you. Therefore, it can prevent very serious injuries."

Most manufacturers plan on making side impact air bags available soon. They state that they are taking extreme care and doing extensive testing to make sure the airbags they install will be safe for all car passengers- including children. There is a concern, expressed by the Department of Transportation, that children could be injured by a deployed side impact airbag, if they are leaning against a door, or out of a window.

The Insurance Institute concedes that there are potential risks, but says that those risks can be virtually eliminated by following standard safety procedures. These procedures include placing children in the back seat and making sure that they are properly restrained. "If you have children properly restrained as they should be- you shouldn't have children lying on seats unrestrained- then there's nothing to be concerned about with the side impact airbag," says O'Neill.