Passenger Air Bag Is Often On, Creating Danger for Children

Many pickup truck drivers don’t turn off the passenger-side air bag when carrying children, putting them at a greater risk of air bag-related injuries, according to a government study released Thursday.

The government began allowing air bag switches in 1995 and recommends that the passenger-side air bag be turned off when a child younger than 13 is in the front seat.

At least 104 children have been killed, and many others injured, by the force of deploying air bags, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The switches can be installed in vehicles that cannot accommodate a rear-facing child seat anywhere except in the front seat, such as pickups and cars with small or no back seats. More than 10 million pickups in the U.S. have the switches.

NHTSA interviewed 1,637 truck drivers at parking lots last year and found that 91% of those transporting an infant turned off the air bag.

But the rate dropped dramatically for older children. The air bags were turned off 52% of the time when a child from age 1 to 12 was in the passenger seat.

NHTSA also found the switches were off 18% of the time when adults were in the passenger seat.

The report recommended that NHTSA work harder to tell the public about the dangers of air bags to children and the benefits for adults. It also said the industry should develop air bags that reduce the danger to children automatically without action by motorists.

The interviews were conducted last year in the states with the highest rates of new light truck registrations: California, Georgia, Michigan and Texas.