Pregnancy & Air bags

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Sat 2 Oct 2004 12:56
Pregnancy & Air bags - Citroënian {P}
Just been chatting to a pregnant, distant cousin who recently had someone drive into her car, trapping her in it for half an hour.

She's got a couple of broken ribs but thankfully the baby appears to be fine. Now here's the real scary thing.

The car didn't have an air bag. She was told by the doctors that if it had, it may well have killed the baby.

I'm absolutely shocked by this, but when you think about it, it makes sense. You would deactivate a passenger side airbag if a baby was in its line of fire because of the obvious danger, and you wouldn't sit an infant on your lap in its explosion zone either.

Does anyone have an idea of the best way round this, or if it really is the risk that it appears.
--
Lee
MINI adventure in progress
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Sat 2 Oct 2004 13:33
Pregnancy & Air bags - Hugo {P}
It all depends where the air bag comes out to when it goes off. The driver's side tends to hit the face and the upper part of the abdomin. The passenger fires a little lower I think.

Was your cousin driving at the time or was she in the passenger seat?

My view is that there ought to be enough information for each manufcturer to advise drivers according to their height and build as to the best risk mitigation course of action.

Then the dealers really must offer deactivation and reactivation free of charge regardless of whether the car is serviced there normally or not.

H
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Sat 2 Oct 2004 13:45
Pregnancy & Air bags - Schnitzel
I think it's best to sit further back if you're a passenger, so that the airbag will deploy in front of you. If a driver, you must not sit too close to the wwheel or have the steering rake to low. If very pregnant, and you tend to sit near the wheel as many females do, maybe best to let someone else chauffer you? It's the least a man can do seeing as he doesn't have to get pregnant himself!
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Sat 2 Oct 2004 16:52
Pregnancy & Air bags - David Horn
My brother's Megane has a switch that disables the passenger airbag for pregnant women and children, according to the manual.
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Sat 2 Oct 2004 17:55
Pregnancy & Air bags - Mark (RLBS)
Significantly pregnant women should travel in the back whenever possible taking care as to the positioning of the belts.

And clearly should avoid driving as much as possible - which is typically not much, but every little helps.
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Sat 2 Oct 2004 20:01
Pregnancy & Air bags - PoloGirl
It's not as if this is a risk that pregnant women are unaware of. Perhaps it's just something that men, in general, don't think about as it's not something they will ever have to deal with.

Somewhere in all (disclaimer: all cars that I've been in!) cars with airbags, is a sticker advising you to sit as far back as you can, and to disable it if you're pregnant or putting a child seat there. Pregnant women also get a leaflet from their GP/Midwife about driving/travelling in cars, seatbelts and the like, and the Drs that I go to is plastered with posters of the same.

Surely this is common sense? Never mind a licence to drive...how about a test to see if you're sensible enough to have kids? ;)

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Sat 2 Oct 2004 21:19
Pregnancy & Air bags - Citroënian {P}
PoloGirl - thanks for the angle, you perhaps hit the nail on the head in that I've never had occasion to think about this too hard.

I've always thought I was up on the things to worry about in a car but this totally, totally escaped me.

--
Lee
MINI adventure in progress
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Choosing a child seat can be a quite baffling experience – there are so many sizes, types, brands and price points available that you might not know where to start.

How to choose the right child seat