The problem is, people, unlike dummies, are rarely positioned in their vehicles by technicians. When a crash occurs, a passenger could be, say, leaning forward over a map during which time an air bag might inflate directly under that passenger's jaw, breaking his or her neck. Over the past decade, at least 165 people more than half of them children have died of air bag related injuries. In response, the federal government has ordered that by 2004, 35 percent of new cars must be equipped with "advanced" air bags, which take into account your height and weight and react to changes in your position.
Brainy Air Bags
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In an immaculate Virginia research center,
technicians from the Insurance Institute of
Highway Safety are meticulously planning a
catastrophe. Two dummies are positioned in a
$40,000 German luxury sedan, the angle of their
bodies adjusted with protractors, their seat belts
positioned perfectly over their waists and
shoulders, with the tension just so. The car is
pitched into a huge concrete block at 40 mph and
crushed into foil. But inside, the air bags inflate
impressively; had these dummies been human, I
am assured, they would have walked away from
the accident.