Air Bag Protection May Be Related to Height

May 16th, 2007

Individuals who are of average height appear to receive more protection from air bags than those who are especially short or tall. In a study of over 52,000 drivers and 14,000 drivers involved in crashes from 1995-2000, most weren’t seriously injured when air bags were involved. However, about 2.5% of drivers and 2.6% of passengers sustained serious injuries to any part of the body.

The physician in charge of the study at Oregon Health & Science University concluded that modest protection is provided for front-seat passengers between 5’3” and 5’11” tall. Air bags seem to increase the risk of injury for adults of large or small stature.
Drivers who measured 6’3” or taller had a 5% greater risk of serious injury, and those shorter than 4’ll” had a 4% higher risk of the same.

Distance from the air bag is considered to be the most important factor in preventing serious injury. No hard and fast guidelines may be used, however, as air bags differ greatly and deploy using various forces.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration advises taking these precautions:

• Wear your seatbelt
• Sit as far from the air bag as possible, allowing it to deploy properly
• Short drivers are cautioned to move the driver’s seat back and tilt the seat slightly backward to create more space between the driver’s chest and steering wheel.
• Drivers should not lean forward while driving.
• It is advisable for drivers to held steering wheels from the side when possible in order to not interfere with the air bag deploying.

Source:  WebMD

Entry Filed under: General