Airbag, belt: how to sit properly in the car
Written by Olivier Duquesne on 01-11-2017
EuroNCAP crash tests give reassuring results for most modern cars. But emerging from an accident alive and without serious injury also requires settling in safely.
Getting into a car correctly is essential to increase your chances of emerging unscathed or with only minor injuries after a road accident. The first thing to do is to get comfortable in your seat. We avoid nonchalant postures or the backrest in a lying position. The driver must be able to press the brake pedal without his leg being strained. The knee should remain slightly bent to better absorb shock. Same for the arms. And then, we will avoid having something in our mouth while driving. The violence of the shock can cause it to be swallowed (askew). In addition, any object or animal on the luggage cover or not attached to a seat can become a deadly projectile in an accident. In any case, you must take care to position yourself correctly, taking into account that you must sit in a seat with the belt on and in the presence of a variety of airbags in the passenger compartment.
- Direct link: injury risks
- Direct link: airbags
Seatbelt
You must of course wear your seat belt. Not only is this mandatory, it is also effective in the event of a collision. The belt prevents you from being propelled against an element of the car (steering wheel, front seat, pillar, dashboard, windshield) or even from being ejected from the vehicle. It also restrains the occupants during a rollover by preventing them from hitting the roof. The abdominal strap must be placed at the level of the hips (iliac bone). Be careful not to tighten it too much and not to place it at stomach level, this could cause internal injuries to the intestine. Conversely, belt straps that are too loose will not be able to hold the body which will slide under the belt (submarining). And then, you must not wear a coat, jacket, large sweater, scarf or scarf and not have objects in your pockets at chest level. Those who are most afraid of getting stuck can always equip themselves with a belt cutter. Finally, people with a pacemaker, a defibrillator, a chemotherapy chamber or who have had a mastectomy authorizing them, with official document, not to wear a seat belt can, however, fasten it by installing a patented pad reducing irritation and allowing implants to remain in an open air area.
Setting and children
It is often possible to adjust the height of the belt to avoid feeling it on the neck and place it correctly on the shoulder. Younger children must use a car seat or booster depending on local legislation, but it is strongly recommended to use it up to 1.50 m. If the belt is bothersome, you should try adjusting the seat position or, for younger children, using a booster seat. But under no circumstances should the belt be placed under the armpit as this makes the restraint completely ineffective. As a reminder, a rear-facing child seat installed in the front requires the front airbag to be deactivated.
Airbags
Airbags prevent your head or any other part of the body from hitting furniture and the structure of the car during an impact or collision. They engage automatically in 150 milliseconds depending on the point of impact. Although the airbag saves lives, their presence must nevertheless be taken into account when getting into a car. Each airbag is indicated by an inlay, a stamp or a label. This means that nothing should be placed or installed there that could hinder its explosive deployment. You should also avoid getting too close to the steering wheel (at least 25 cm). And above all, the front passenger must not place their feet on the dashboard. If the airbag is activated, the knees will instantly become acquainted with the ears…
Injuries
An airbag has a very rapid and impressive deployment at over 300 km/h, filling a cushion with gas in 0.15 seconds. This can lead to injuries such as burns, retinal detachment, a broken nose or tinnitus, or even fractures to the arms and shoulders. The airbag can also break the glasses and injure the wearer. The belt that tightens during an impact can be responsible for a rib fracture, a burn on the neck linked to the force of the strap or simply large bruises. But in all cases, these injuries are less serious than an accident without a seat belt and without an airbag.
More serious injuries
Failure to properly buckle your seat belt can cause serious injury. A poorly adjusted belt, because it is too loose, twisted or placed under the shoulder or too high on the stomach, can cause significant trauma to the abdomen, thorax, shoulders and neck. A poorly tightened abdominal strap can cause the lower body to shift, with even a risk of the person being strangled by the belt itself. There is also a risk of bleeding and internal injuries following the pressure exerted by the belt. Impressive injuries. But not wearing a seat belt and deactivating the airbags can have even more serious and irremediable consequences. The best thing is obviously to wear your seat belt, sit properly and keep in mind that driving is risky and that you should remain vigilant in all circumstances.