Do you feel safer knowing that your car has an air bag? Would it surprise you to know that, in reality, you would actually be safer without it? If you are a woman, according to a study done by Transport Canada, you are about 21% safer without an airbag. If you are child, you are even safer than that without the airbag.
In Canada, at least. You see most Canadians wear seat-belts. We're a reasonable people. Once we were convinced, as most of us were, that being thrown from a car at 80 kph was quite dangerous, most of us decided to use our seatbelts. We don't need airbags. In fact, when airbags go off during a minor accident, they frequently cause more injuries-- and even death-- than the accident itself.
Most Americans do not wear seatbelts. Insurance companies don't like paying out for serious injuries, and American state and federal governments didn't want to require seatbelts, so the insurance companies demanded the air bags, and the government complied, and the auto-makers, reluctantly, installed them.
Of course, just because the auto makers didn't want to install air bags doesn't mean they can't take advantage of them. If your air bag goes off, you will pay a princely sum to have it "recharged".
And if you are a Canadian, mechanics will charge you up to $800 to disable this stupid device which, it is now clear, is a danger to your life and your children's lives. Auto makers, who insisted that they didn't want to install air bags when they were first demanded, now insist that the won't remove them even though they do not provide any additional protection for people who wear seatbelts.
Of course, the same government classifies mini-vans as "trucks" so they are not subject to the same stringent safety regulations as passenger cars. Did I say "stringent"? Safety regulations for passenger cars are also slipping, and the 15 km impact resistant bumper is a thing of the past.
Vote for Ralph Nader.
