What You as a Driver Need to Know About the Air Bags in Your Vehicle
Being injured from a serious car crash can be a scary experience. Even more frightening is trying to figure out how you are going to pay for your medical expenses when you are out of work from your injuries. At Silverman, McDonald & Friedman we help injured clients in and around Seaford, Wilmington and Newark recover compensation from the negligent party that caused the car accident.
Your vehicle’s seat belts are the first line of defense and its airbags are the second line of defense that protects you in the event of a crash. Air bags, or supplemental inflatable restraints (SIR) have been designed to cushion the driver’s body and slow down the impact forces in an auto accident. With all the talk about defective airbags that has been going around for the past few years, here is some vital information that you should know about how your vehicle’s airbags are supposed to work to protect you in an accident.
- Always wear your seatbelt. Airbags work as a secondary protection system to the seat belt. If a person is riding in a car that gets into a crash and they are not wearing a seat belt when the airbags deploy, they can be at an increased risk of injury.
- Sit the appropriate seat in the vehicle. Front airbags are designed to restrain an average sized adult. A child sitting in the front seat equipped with an airbag can suffer serious injury is the airbag deploys. The safest spot for a child to sit is in the center seat in the back seat of a car. Adults who sit in the front seats should position their seat so that there is at least ten inches of space between the dashboard and their chest. Sitting closer than ten inches does not give the airbags sufficient space to fully deploy before meeting the passenger’s body.
- Pay attention to the vehicle’s warning lights. If your airbag warning light is on, it means that there is a problem with the system. Take your car in to the dealer or the mechanic to find out why that light is on. DO not continue to drive with the airbag warning light on.
- Have the airbags inspected when you buy a used car. Airbags are designed to be used just once. If you were involved in a crash and the airbags deployed they will need to be replaced before you drive the car again. Make sure when you are buying a used car to find out if the airbags have ever deployed. Then make sure that they were replaced.
Airbags were designed to increase the chances that an adult would survive a motor vehicle crash, but they can be deadly or cause serious injury if they are deployed in front of a child. Make sure that smaller adults and children ride in the back seat and that every passenger is wearing a seat belt.
Our trusted personal injury attorneys at Silverman, McDonald & Friedman are here to fight for fair compensation on your behalf when you have been hurt due to someone else’s negligence. You are welcome to call 302-888-2900 or fill out our contact form to schedule a free consultation with an experienced Delaware auto accident attorney in Wilmington, Newark or Seaford today.
Attorney Jeffrey S. Friedman joined Silverman, McDonald & Friedman in 2001. He graduated from Widener University School of Law, and is admitted to practice law in Delaware and Pennsylvania, and in several Federal Circuit courts. He areas of concentration include auto accident and workers’ compensation cases. Read more about Attorney Friedman here.