The Daily Auto Insider: Children who are exposed to older air bags in frontal crashes face a higher risk of serious injury compared with those in vehicles with newer versions of the safety devices, even if they are wearing safety belts.
Children who are exposed to older air bags in frontal crashes face a higher risk of serious injury compared with those in vehicles with newer versions of the safety devices, even if they are wearing safety belts, The Associated Press reported, citing a study published in the April edition of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
The report evaluated first-generation air bags from 1994-1997 model years while the second-generation devices — which are more technologically advanced — reviewed were from 1998-2001 model years.
The study reports that children wearing seat belts in the right front seat had a 14.9 percent risk of serious injury when an older air bag was deployed in a crash.
Children in a similar situation exposed to second-generation air bags, or those built after federal regulators amended air bag rules in 1997, had a 9.9 percent risk of serious injury.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends all children ages 12 and under be placed in rear seats. But researchers note many children continue to sit in the right front seat of passenger vehicles.
The study, based on insurance claims from State Farm Insurance Co., involved 1,781 children and teenagers between the ages of 3 and 15 who had been wearing seat belts in the right front seat. The youngsters were exposed to deployed air bags in frontal crashes between December 1998 and November 2002, the story noted.