The fact is that airbags are dangerous, and we have been systematically lied to about how very dangerous they are. The Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Louisville and the Kentucky medical Examiner's Office have been conducting an on-going study over the past 10 years to identify injuries associated with air bag deployment. They have found not only that a driver or passenger in close to a deploying air bag can sustain severe injuries or death, but also that having the chest, arm, or face close to the deploying air bag or module cover can result in amputation of fingers, hands and forearms, pulverized compound fractures of the forearms and fractures of the upper arms, no matter what the speed of the car is.

The government appears to finally be doing something about the dangers of airbags. They have adopted new regulations requiring testing with children and small adults, something that should of course have been part of the original testing requirements. Hopefully by their deadline, 2012, auto manufacturers will have in place airbags that are controlled by load cells that sense the size and position of car occupants. Until then it is up to us to try to protect ourselves.

Here is a list of groups the government think are at risk:

Drivers who sit within 10 inches of the steering wheel. This includes

people about 5'4" or shorter

heavier people

pregnant women

Those with medical conditions such as those with Osteoporosis or Tinnitus, that would make the impact of the airbag especially dangerous

Children who need to ride in the front seat especially:

in cars, trucks or vans that have no back seat

when a child or infant can't be adequately monitored in back

when the front seat is needed, as with a carpool.

What can we do? One thing is to turn the airbags off. If you, or your expected passengers fit into the airbag endangered group, you can apply to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for permission to have an airbag switch installed.