• 26
  • March
    2010

Since 2004, all new car models have come equipped with enhanced airbags, meant to save more lives and deliver car accident victims more safely. These new airbags are controlled by computers, which adjust deployment based on:

  • whether or not the driver is buckled in
  • how much the driver weighs
  • where the driver is located on the seat
  • the car's speed at the time of impact

Yet, for all of these safety features, since smarter airbags have been installed, more drivers have died in car accidents.

More buckled drivers, that is. For those who decided not to buckle up, fatal accidents have decreased.

The risk of death isn't just up a little bit for belted drivers, it is significantly higher - 21 percent, to be exact. According to a recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a non-profit organization, belted drivers using cars with older airbag models are much safer than those driving new cars.

It's not a coincidence.

As some have pointed out, airbags are not designed with safe drivers in mind. Every aspect of airbag safety is checked against its ability to protect drivers who are not buckled. In the meantime, responsible drivers who wear seatbelts are left with airbags that aren't fit to the task of protecting them.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sets the standards for airbag testing and, as of yet, have not offered an explanation or much of an opinion on the case. Many industry professionals have called for safety standards focused on buckled drivers instead of unbuckled drivers.

For now, the NHTSA has simply agreed to continue to watch the situation and study the effectiveness of airbags in saving drivers.

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