Health: Beyond Seat Belts

The next time you buy a car, think seriously about opting for side air bags. They’re not as sexy as GPS screens, but a new report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety finds that they save lives and may ultimately be as vital as seat belts–especially when they offer head protection. Every year, 9,000 people in the U.S. die in side-impact car crashes. That’s 30% of all auto-occupant deaths. The institute’s report is the first to assess the real-world efficacy of side air bags. Using government data on driver’s-side collisions, it found that drivers whose vehicles had side air bags with head protection were 53% less likely to die than those without them. Air bags that did not protect the head were far less effective. –S.S.