A 3-minute lesson from the New Jersey course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Air bags add protection in frontal crashes, but only together with seat belts. They inflate with great force, which is why small children belong in the back seat and why a few people may qualify for an on-off switch.
Know the rule
Air bags are designed to supplement seat belts in frontal crashes. Federal standards require them in all new passenger cars and light trucks.
A correctly belted average-sized adult is unlikely to touch the air bag until it is fully inflated. Air bags can seriously injure or kill children sitting in the front seat.
NHTSA allowed cutoff switches in pickups, sports cars and cars with no back seat in 1995; since January 1998 dealers and repair shops may install them after an application is approved.
Markings that show a vehicle has air bags: "SRS" = supplemental restraint system, "SIR" = supplemental inflatable restraint, found on the steering wheel and dashboard.
Your pickup truck has no back seat and you must carry your 5-year-old. This is one case where a passenger-side on-off switch may be approved; otherwise, children 12 and under should ride in the back of a vehicle with air bags.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
At approximately what speed do air bags inflate to protect occupants in a front-end crash?
Up to 50 mph
Up to 200 mph
Up to 20 mph
Up to 100 mph
Answer: Up to 200 mph
Air bags inflate at speeds of up to 200 mph to protect adults in a front-end crash.
For an individual to qualify for a driver-side-only air bag cutoff switch, they must be unable to keep at least how much distance between the steering wheel and their breastbone?
5 inches
20 inches
2 inches
10 inches
Answer: 10 inches
A driver-side air bag cutoff switch may apply to individuals who cannot keep at least 10 inches between the center of the steering wheel and the center of their breastbone.