Avoiding the Avoidable: Why State Laws Need to Protect Kids from Airbags

Abstract

Impact with a front passenger airbag engineered to stop a large statured, adult male from hitting the windshield risks devastating if not fatal harm for a child. "Avoiding the Avoidable: Why State Laws Need to Protect Kids from Airbags" proposes a simple solution: absent extenuating circumstances, require rear seating for child passengers. This article describes the mechanism of injury, examines the inadequacies and inconsistencies of current national and state efforts to reduce pediatric airbag risk, and proposes comprehensive "model" legislation to avoid this completely avoidable yet often fatal harm.