About Airbags
Drivers should wear seat belts and sit at least 25 centimetres (10 inches) from the steering wheel to allow the airbag room to deploy.
Adult passengers should buckle up and sit back as far as possible to get maximum benefit from the airbag.
Children 12 years and under are safer buckled up in the back seat. If a child must sit in a passenger seat equipped with an airbag, buckle the child up, push the seat back as far as it will go, and ensure the child sits upright.
Never place a rear-facing child restraint in a vehicle seat equipped with an airbag.
Warning decals are available from our office, Keenleyside Insurance.
How do I know if my vehicle has an airbag?
It's not always easy to tell. Check your owner's manual or call your dealer.
Airbags, used together with seat belts, provide lifesaving protection during serious frontal collisions by preventing the face and head from hitting the steering wheel and other vehicle structures.
- Drivers and passengers must wear a seat belt.* Seat belts keep you in position and out of the airbag deployment zone - giving the airbag room to deploy. The lap belt should be positioned across the pelvic bones and the shoulder belt should lie across the chest and over the shoulder.
- Drivers should sit at least 25 centimetres (10 inches) away from the steering wheel. Drivers who sit too close to the steering wheel are at risk of serious injury in a collision.
- Adult passengers should buckle up and sit back as far as possible to get maximum benefit from the airbag. Sitting back and wearing a seat belt is critical. Do not put feet up on the dashboard.
- Children 12 years and under should be properly restrained in the back seat because they tend to squirm and move around in their seats and that could put them in the airbag deployment zone. If a child must sit in a passenger seat equipped with an airbag, push the seat as far as it will go and ensure the child is properly restrained and sitting upright.
- Never place a rear-facing child restraint in a vehicle seat equipped with an airbag. Injuries or death may result if the airbag inflates and impacts with the child restraint...
* Wearing a seat belt and securing infants and children in certified child restraints is mandatory in BC.
- Courtesy of ICBC's Road Sense brochure "About Airbags" and The Province of British Columbia.
