Improved, computerized airbags may increase risk of injury and death to Kansas City Drivers

A report released this week by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) shows that new generation airbags designed to better protect driver safety may not be as effective at protecting those drivers as the older airbags they replaced.

Older airbags were designed to protect a 165-pound man who was not wearing a seat belt during a car crash. But, they often deployed with enough force to seriously injure or even kill small adults or children sitting in the front passenger seat. Newer, computerized airbags are supposed to prevent this type of injury.

Today’s airbags use sophisticated computer technology that can detect how much a driver weighs, where the driver is seated and how the seat is adjusted, if the driver is seatbelted, and the speed of impact. These factors program how the airbag deploys. This is supposed to offer more protection to the occupants of the car. However, the recent study by researchers at the IIHS revealed that these new airbags may be putting some lives at risk. Researchers found a 21% increase in injuries and death to seatbelted drivers in vehicles equipped with the newer airbags over drivers in vehicles equipped with the older airbags.

Computerized airbags were first installed in cars in 2004. hey have been standard in all vehicles since the 2007 model year. Use of new generation airbags in the driver’s seat and from passenger’s seat of new vehicles is mandated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Researchers believe the increase in accidents and fatalities may be due to the fact that fedral law requires that airbags be designed to protect both seatbelted and unseatbelted drivers. The force at which an airbag must deploy to protect an unbelted driver, is too much for a seatbelted driver and can cause injury. The IIHS believes that in order to prevent injury, airbags should be designed with the protection of the seatbelted majority of drivers in mind.

Regardless of which airbags are in your vehicle, do not stop wearing your seatbelt. Seatbelts are the most important safety device in a vehicle and risk of injury from not wearing a seatbelt outweighs the risk of injury from an airbag.

At the Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys victims of accidents come first. Our Kansas City personal injury attorneys believe in your right to a fair insurance settlement after a car accident. If you’ve been injured by a negligent driver or in a drunk driving accident or due to a defect in your vehicle, you have rights. The Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys can help you get fair compensation for your injuries, medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages and other losses. If you need help after an accident in either Kansas or Missouri, contact our office at 888-348-2616. The initial consultation is always free and most cases are handled on a contingency basis – you pay nothing until we win.

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Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys
1102 Grand Blvd., Ste 1901
Kansas City, MO 64106
Phone: 816-471-5111
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