Airbags are a great asset to the automotive industry in helping to prevent or lessen injuries sustained in automobile crashes. Airbags are designed to supplement conventional restraints like seatbelts, and act as a cushion against hard parts of the car like the steering wheel. Airbags are a great invention, saving lives and decreasing the seriousness of injuries in many car crashes. However, the airbag is not free from all faults. For example, airbag burns are a common side effect of a deployed airbag during an accident. This article will explore prevent airbag burns.
Instructions
1. Wear your seat belt. If you are restrained by your seat belt, you won't be as close to the airbag when it deploys, which gives less chance for you to get an airbag burn. The seat belt will help you not to slide forward right before the crash.
2. Make sure that you have 10 inches (25 centimeters) between the center of your breastbone and the center of the steering wheel. This way, when the airbag deploys, it will have less chance of hitting you hard enough to cause an airbag burn.
3. Avoid hunching over or leaning against the door of the car. If you do this, you have much more chance of the airbag burning you when it's deployed.
4. Wear long sleeve shirts and keep body parts covered. If you really want to avoid the airbag burns, you can cover all skin so that the airbag doesn't come into contact with skin when it deploys. This will keep you from getting burned.
5. Avoid wearing synthetic clothing. The hot gases of the airbag can actually cause the clothes to melt to your body and cause burns. Wear natural fibers.
6. Drive in cars with newer airbag models where the vents are on top of the bag. The older airbags were poorly designed, so that the vents from the airbag itself were positioned right where the driver's arms are, at the ten o'clock and two o'clock position. This means that when the airbag deploys, the gases escape right where your arms are and burn you. Newer airbag models have adjusted for this, with the vents at the top of the bag.
7. Get a vehicle that has a second generation airbag system that actually adjusts the deployment of the airbag based on a person's size and position in the vehicle!
8. Check to make sure the airbag is in working order. You can have your vehicle inspected for this periodically. Some cars even have lights that come on when the airbag isn't working. If the airbag deploys improperly, there is more chance of you getting injured or burned.
9. Place children under 13 years of age in the rear seat of the vehicle. Because they are smaller, children will be more subject to the direct impact of the airbag and can more often be injured and burned by the airbag when it deploys.
Tags: airbag burns, airbag deploys, seat belt, when airbag, when deploys