In your point of view, are airbags safe or unsafe?

Answer 1

Safe. If you didn't have an airbag, and you got into a wreck, your head would hit the steering wheel or the dashboard. It would crack your skull open and either seriously hurt you or kill you. Airbags provide a cushion for your head to hit before hitting those two things. They may sting a little and cause redness, but it's much better than cracking your skull open

Answer 2

Point of view does not even apply. People's lives have been saved by airbags. The rare occasions where it might be said that airbags could have cause injury or death are far outweighed by the much greater number of lives saved.

People use do argue against mandatory seat belt laws by posing a hypothetical situation like, "But what if I went over an embankent and landed upside down in water and was knocked unconscious? I could drown if I was wearing a seatbelt!" The obvious response is that you are many times more likely to be hit, head on, in a collision than you would be flying over an embankment. By the way, if there was NO water at the bottom of the embankment, a seatbelt would probably save your life!

In response to "cowboy bill"s "shotgun blast" comment: as a claims adjuster, you must be aware that the mere act of getting behind the wheel of an automobile is, inherently dangerous. One has to weigh the risks and make ones own determination. I'd rather have the airbags installed and in working order, than not. I'd feel MUCH safer.

Answer 3

Airbags are suppose to be used in conjunction with safety belts not in lue of them.

Safety belts are meant for the body to slow with the car. Meaning if the car is going 55mph then everything inside of is moving at the same rate. Not wearing one means that your body continues to go 55 until acted upon (IE steering wheel, dashboard, windshield etc.) We all know Newton law " an object in motion will stay in motion until acted upon)
They are meant to cushion the impact of the thoraxicabdominal cavity from the steering wheel if there is intrusion into the passengers compartment. That includes the side airbags.

Assuming that the drive is of average size; the space between the driver and the steering wheel should be 10 to 13 inches. The damage to internal organs is reduce if there is an intrusion greater then 6inches.

To Cowboybil the reason the airbag comes out so fast is because of how fast accident happen we don't have the option of having slowing down accidents as they occur.

As for my opinion as a paramedic/firefighter they are safe and they have helped to reduce injuries and save lives.

Answer 4

Very safe when you follow the simple precautions in your owners manual. Most cars you just have to make sure you are at least 12-18 inches from the steering wheel and should drive with your hands at 9 & 3 o'clock (your elbows will bend more and give you a better chance of maintaining grip on the wheel than 10 & 2). Don't put rear-facing car seats in the front seats unless the airbag is off (via a manual switch or weight sensor).

Here's a study:
http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/153/3/219

Of significant interest is the reduction in mortality for all air bag deployments, and the nearly 2/3 increase in survival for head-on collisions.

Race cars don't use airbags because they have tight fitting, restrictive harnesses and form-fitting seating. Your body is held rigid and only suffers the force of the initial inertia change. In regular vehicles, the belt is not snug enough and your body is subject to a variety of inertias as you are tossed around during the accident. If we could get consumers to buy a car with 5 point restraints and hip and shoulder hugging seats with large head rests, we'd be better off than airbags, but that'll never happen.

Answer 5

Airbags are extremely safe. I have been a volunteer EMT for 18 years and I have seen many lives saved from air bags. A lot of times we would drive up on an accident and first impressions would be "wow, they must be dead" and then to find out they were out of the vehicle on their cell phone. People try to down air bags, but the fact remains, without airbags, you are going to hit the steering column and/or windshield with a seat belt on, so if you ask me, I would rather have my body hit a bag. As usual, if there is a way to place blame, and sue, people try and place blame on anything and everything. I have seen people die in accidents, and the accident was so bad that they wouldn't of survived without an airbag either, but like I said, people want to have something to point at. Airbags are life savers.

Answer 6

I disagree with all other people that answered. A nylon bag being hurled into your face with the force of a shotgun blast is NEVER 'safe'. To everyone that is stupid enough to not wear seatbelts I am really glad airbags prevented your death or severe injury but the fact is seatbelts are proven lifesavers. If airbags were actually safer than belts then race cars would have them installed by sundown tomorrow. Belted, your chances of surviving a crash with little or no injury are in your favor in the extreme. SRS units are heavy, complex and very, very expensive and I for one am NOT convinced they are worth it.

Answer 7

Saved my life. Like an idiot I wasn't wearing my seatbelt and ended up going through the wind shield anyway but the airbags kept me from being completely ejected.

Answer 8

I was recently in a car accident where our car hit a tree, both air bags deployed, I had a burn under my chin, and lots and lots of bruises mostly from seatbelt and air bag.

Without the air bag i probably would have gone through the windscreen.

I was in hospital for 8 hours then went home. Yes I think air bags are safe, as i really think they saved my life

Answer 9

personally, i do think air bags are safe because i was once in a major three car collision and my cars air bags saved my life so i think air bags are a great and very safe.

Answer 10

Hi. The safest thing is to not have an accident but, assuming that you do, you are safer (as an adult) with them than without them.