Air Bags

  This morning I had to drive Alex to school so he could bring in his rather large science project. In fact it was so big it couldn't fit in the trunk of my small car. Alex sat in the back seat with it on his lap. 

  Riley, being only nine, had to come too. He was very excited about sitting in the front seat for the first time. That and the fact I have seat warmers and it was a frosty morning. I pushed the seat back as far as it would go, just in case the air bag deployed.

  Trying to be a good parent, after Alex got out I had him move to the back seat where he is supposed to be safest. But is he?

  My car is two years old. One of the many safety features is the amount of air bags. Four in total. One on each rear passenger door. So if he is too small to survive in the front seat what about the back? Don't all air bags deploy at the same speed? And if his seat belt does it's job won't the air bag engulf him? Or at least try to push him in the other direction? What about the one on the other side? Is he squished in between? What if Alex is back there too?

  So many questions. I've searched many sites today looking for answers and here's what I've found out. Put your child in the middle of the back seat. Period. That's it. Nothing about two kids in a car. 

  The side impact bags sound like a great idea in a rollover situation. The article  even said they can deploy on uneven/unimproved roads where no roll over or impact is detected. Interesting. 

  What I didn't find was any specific age, weight or height requirements for the front seat. All every article seemed to focus on was the danger of the airbag not an actual collision itself. And of course the proper placing of the seat belt. That's a given.

  For now I think I'll keep Riley in the back. He's tall for his age so positioning the seat belt isn't an issue. Who would have thought safety features could cause so much worry?

  Fingers crossed we won't ever have to find out what happens when those airbags deploy!

  Ang