| It's not that Melissa dismissed the notion of | | | | Air bags are a supplement to safety belts and |
| fastening her seat belt. The thought just | | | | are not intended to be a substitute for them. |
| never entered her mind. She and her friends | | | | According to the Insurance Institute for |
| were eager to begin their picnic in the | | | | Highway Safety, the overall fatality-reducing |
| country, and there was more hurry than | | | | effectiveness for air bags is about 14 |
| caution to her actions. At some point Melissa | | | | percent over and above the benefits from |
| lost control of her car, and it rolled over | | | | using safety belts. In vehicles with air |
| several times. | | | | bags: |
| | | | |
| The vibrant young high school cheerleader was | | | | * All passengers should wear safety belts. |
| thrown from the automobile and left paralyzed | | | | |
| from the waist down. She knows she would have | | | | * Place rear-facing child safety seats in the |
| avoided her tragedy with a simple, | | | | back seat of vehicles with passenger-side air |
| three-second procedure. And that's hardly a | | | | bags. A deploying air bag can cause serious |
| cheerful thought. | | | | and fatal head injuries to a child. |
| | | | |
| Based on National Safety Council statistics, | | | | * Keep your hands away from the steering |
| lifetime odds are 1-in-2 that you will suffer | | | | wheel hub that contains the air bag. An |
| a temporary or permanent disabling injury in | | | | inflating air bag could break a hand or |
| a traffic crash, and about 1-in-100 that you | | | | fingers. |
| will be killed. Surprisingly, the majority of | | | | |
| crashes causing injury or death occur within | | | | * If you have a passenger side air bag, kids |
| 25 miles of home at speeds under 40 mph. | | | | under age 13, or 5-feet-3 inches, should ride |
| | | | in the back seat. |
| Superior engineering is making automobiles | | | | |
| safer, but the ultimate responsibility for | | | | * Sit as far back from the steering wheel as |
| safety rests with the people behind the | | | | is comfortably possible. You should sit at |
| wheel. | | | | least 10 inches away from the wheel. |
| | | | |
| Safety Belts Are Mandatory | | | | * If you are short, try tilting the steering |
| | | | wheel down and raising the seat to achieve 10 |
| * According to the National Safety Council, | | | | inches and still drive comfortably. If this |
| passenger car and light truck occupants who | | | | doesn't work, pedal extenders should be |
| wear safety belts cut the risk of serious or | | | | considered. The further away you are, the |
| fatal injury in collisions between 45 and 65 | | | | more efficiently the bag will work. |
| percent. | | | | |
| | | | Pregnant Women, Children And Pets |
| * Ejection from a vehicle is one of the most | | | | |
| injurious events that can happen to a person | | | | * Pregnant women should position the lap belt |
| in a crash. In fact, you are 25 times more | | | | as low as they can under the abdominal bulge |
| likely to die when you are thrown from your | | | | and let the shoulder strap rest across their |
| vehicle. The safest place in a crash is | | | | chest. Wearing both belts will protect both |
| inside your car. Buckle up! | | | | the mother and the fetus. In cold weather, |
| | | | unbutton outer clothing so the belt won't |
| * If buckled in, you won't be: | | | | creep up. |
| | | | |
| -flung through the windshield, | | | | * Do not hold a child on your lap in a moving |
| | | | automobile. In a crash, it could be crushed |
| -pitched into traffic, or against a telephone | | | | between the occupant and dashboard or |
| post or tree, | | | | windshield, or hit by a deploying air bag. |
| | | | The only safe place for a child is in an |
| -thrown across rough, lacerating surfaces, or | | | | approved safety seat. |
| | | | |
| -crushed by your own vehicle. | | | | * To be sure the safety seat is correctly |
| | | | installed, go to a local organization that |
| * For everyone's protection, back-seat | | | | offers to check safety seat installation. |
| passengers should be buckled in. That way | | | | |
| they won't become dangerous projectiles in | | | | * Whenever possible, children should ride in |
| the automobile cabin in the event of a crash. | | | | the center of the back seat, properly |
| | | | restrained. |
| Oh, and for the skeptics in the crowd, please | | | | |
| note: drowning or incineration accounts for | | | | * If a child must ride in the front seat, |
| less than one-tenth of 1 percent of deaths in | | | | make sure the seat is all the way back, the |
| automobile crashes. And it's easier to escape | | | | child stays belted, and sits back in the |
| if you're conscious. | | | | seat. |
| | | | |
| In Vehicles With Air Bags | | | | * When you drive with your pet, use a pet |
| | | | safety belt. |