Air bags are an invaluable safety feature which has saved tens of thousands lives. Most modern vehicles are equipped with both frontal and side bags which may or may not come with head protection. During an accident, passengers will continue to move forward at a fast speed even though the vehicle has stopped. Air bags work by preventing the driver to hit hard surfaces such as the wheel and from hitting the windshield. Air bags generally work best when used with seat belts. However, they may be dangerous for extremely short and petite people since they were engineered for the “average sized” male.

Air bags were invented by John W Hetrick and patented in 1953. He actually designed them in order to protect his own family and also worked with major auto companies; however they were not interested in investing a large sum of money until the government made air bags a federal requirement. Air bags are considered a supplementary safety system which means they are supposed to be used with seat belts; they don’t replace a seat belt so you always need to buckle up.

Air bags are federally mandated required; all autos constructed after the year 1989 are required to be equipped with them. Commercial air bags were introduced to the public in the seventies, however they started to become more popular during the eighties and nineties. They use sensor systems and when the threshold is met, gas is related which causes the bag to deploy. In order to be safe, make sure that you sit at least ten inches away from the wheel; this may mean that might have to slide the seat back a good distance. This may be an issue for petite individuals because they tend to want to move their seats up because that makes it much easier to drive.

If you have problems reaching the pedals when driving then consider having pedal extenders put in your car. These extensions are installed on the gas and brake pedals, allowing you to move the seat backwards so you don’t have to sit super close to the wheel. Also, consider adjusting the steering wheel so that it’s pointed towards your chest and pointed downwards.

One possible solution is to have an on or off switch installed which the smaller sized driver can use to turn the system off once he or she drives. A few newer cars can even detect an individual’s weight and adjust the pressure accordingly. Some also have the ability to deploy in stages according to the type of impact; less force is used during very minor accidents.

Also, remember not to lean against the side door when driving, don’t rest your head or prop up your arms against it and make sure your passengers don’t do the same. Injuries can occur if the side bags go off while you’re leaning against it.

All in all, airbags are great if you are average sized. However, if you are smaller than average you need to be aware and take a few extra precautions.

Author Bio: Written by Jacqueline Star – St Louis Ford offers great deals on Ford in St Louis. Las Vegas Ford offers great deals in Vegas and Riverside Nisan offers deals in the Inland Empire.

Category: Automotive
Keywords: air bags short people, air bags petite people, air bags small people, air bag safety