Airbags detonate with more than 1200 lbs of force at speeds up to 230 miles per hour. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 169 people, including 100 children and at least 26 women, have been killed by air bags in crashes in which serious injuries would otherwise have been unlikely.

On the other hand, NHTSA estimates that 6,138 lives (5,185 drivers and 953 front-right passengers) have been saved by air bags, and at the same time, children, small adults, and out-of-position passengers in the front seats of cars risk serious injury when air bags are deployed at full force during automobile accidents. Airbag systems were developed for the 5 ft 8 inch 180 lb. male, and only tested to be sure they met their needs. Unfortunately, this did not help shorter people, who have to sit closer to the steering wheel than 10 or 12 inches. Nor did the requirements consider children, or those who have medical reasons why they are in danger from the force of an exploding airbag.

As bad as the deaths reported are, when compared to the number of lives saved, it might seem that the benefits outweigh the dangers, but these death totals are not really the total. The fact is that we American drivers are being forced to have a dangerous technology in our automotiles, and we are being lied to about the severity of the danger. The number of airbag induced deaths reported by NHTSA only has included accidents investigated by their Special Crash Investigation (SCI) Division. As of 1988, the SCI decided to focus only on investigating accidents that included the latest airbag technology, because their primary purpose is to help auto manufacturers develop safer and better airbags. But whenever statistics on airbag induced deaths are quoted, those numbers are used as if the SCI investigated deaths are the only deaths from airbags. But the bulk of the deaths are not investigated because they don't involve the latest technology. Therefore there are far more deaths than are quoted in the official statistics published by NHTSA. This holds true with injuries as well: very few are ever investigated or counted.

The good news is that NHTSA recently set up a new standard to make air bags themselves safer by requiring new tests that take into account children in the front seat and small adults, as drivers and front-seat passengers. The tests will be phased in over the next several years. The approach being taken by air bag manufacturers is to utilize a system of load cells that detect the weight and position of the passenger. This information is used to calculate the appropriate air bag force for children, small adults, and out of position passengers. Unfortunately, a solution we can depend on is not due until 2012.