AIR BAGS CAN ADD TO INJURIES IF MISUSED, SAFETY LAB ADVISES

	As millions of motorists prepare to take to the highways
during the holiday season, many drivers will relax and put their
trust in air bags without realizing that improper use of the devices
can render them much less effective, if not actual hazards to life
and limb.

	Tests conducted at the University of Virginia Auto Safety
Laboratory and other centers, together with analysis of national
data on automobile injuries and fatalities, indicate that many air
bag users are hurt or killed annually because they ignore a few
basic rules.

	Walter D. Pilkey, professor of mechanical engineering in the
School of Engineering and Applied Science and head of U.Va.Õs auto
safety program, warns against these common but dangerous practices:

	¥ Using an air bag but not buckling your seat belt. Safety
lab tests on dummies showed that an unbelted driverÕs body may
actually vault upward over an inflating bag and smash into the
windshield or the steel frame member above it. Severe head injuries
may result.

	¥ Driving with an object in your mouth, such as a pipe, soda
bottle or candy stick. Having such an object driven into your face
by the expanding air bag is at least unpleasant, and could be fatal
because it can cause you to lose all control of the car.

	¥ Sitting forward, close to the steering wheel, while
driving a car with an air bag. In a crash the bag inflates faster
than you can react. It can throw the body rearward with enough force
to cause severe injuries.

	¥ Driving with your hand and arms improperly placed. You
should have both hands on the wheel, one at the 3 oÕclock position
and the other at 9 oÕclock. If your arms are too low they can be hit
hard by the expanding bag. Many people relax and let their arms
wander from the safe position on long drives, the safety lab points
out.

	¥ Putting an infant in a child safety seat in a front
passengerÕs seat thatÕs protected by an air bag. An inflating bag
can crash into the strapped-in child. Particularly dangerous are
rear-facing safety seats placed in the front seat. Children should
be in the rear compartment, using safety seats or seatbelts as
appropriate.

	Pilkey has one oft-cited but all-too-often ignored bit of
advice for all drivers, regardless of the safety devices they use:
ÒWatch your speed. Every mile-an-hour over the safe speed limit that
you drive makes any safety device a bit less effective. Air bags and
seat belts save lives and prevent injuries but they arenÕt magic. We
should never allow ourselves to get careless in the belief that some
mechanical device will protect us from our own bad judgment.Ó

	Walter Pilkey can be contacted at (804) 924-3291 or by
E-mail at wdp@virginia.edu For other assistance, contact Tom Doran
at 924-1381; e-mail ted8f@virginia.edu


December 18, 1995