Airbags

The force of a deployed airbag can injure or kill a young child even in a slow-speed crash.    Children ages 12 years and younger, including infants, should never be placed in a seat in front of an airbag.  Riding in the back eliminates children’s risk of such injury. 

In November 1997, CDC published a notice in MMWR announcing the U.S. Department of Transportation’s decision to allow vehicle owners meeting certain qualifying criteria to install air bag on-off switches in their vehicles.
 
CDC also published an update describing this problem and giving several case reports of children killed in this front-passenger position when an air bag deployed.

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