While no one can argue the fact that Air Bags are dangerous, those who have the power to make a difference are not working in the right direction. Of all the plans to make the Air Bag more user friendly, none will make much of a difference. The overly obvious idea of letting people make their own decisions, has apparently been overlooked. As far as what has been proposed so far, it's all just a waste of time. These proposals are just there to feed the media and make people think someone is really looking out for them.

Unfortunately it looks like it will be the almighty dollar that will be the deciding factor. It would be next to impossible for any of the auto manufactures to admit that they have been wrong all this time. This impossibility comes from the risk of liability and the costs involved with other options. The worst for the automakers would be the potiential lawsuits from admitting that they knew that Air Bags could be such a risk. For proof of this point, look at how far most companies go to warn you of the risks - with all of the permenent labels in new cars. On the other hand, the ability to remove or replace existing Air Bag systems, at the demand of the consumer, would also be a huge expense.

This leads to what would replace them. Would it be a new design Air Bag or a blank plate and pocket. As if this wouldn't cost enough, now we could add in the cost of legal acceptance of wrong doing. For the auto makers, it's not that big a deal. They know (knew) that the media attention of the Air Bag dangers will be short lived. For this reason it's easy to see why they chose such an easy direction to take. A new depowered Air Bag was the cheapest choice.

These new depowered Air Bags offer slower speeds at which the Air Bag deploys and reduced power of the inflation. The problem with both of these ideas is how they alter the effectiveness of the Air Bag. There is already such a narrow window in which Air Bags can be effective. Changing their speed and power will only reduce the size of that window. It's a shame that millions of dollars will be spent to find out what common sense makes obvious.

Through easy understanding of just how fast the Air Bag already worked, it was easy to see that the small window of their effectiveness was about 25 to 50 mph. Any speed above or below that and the Air bag is only there to injure. So by reducing the speed of inflation (by less power), the maximum effective speed that the Air Bag could still be helpful is reduced to about 45 mph. At this speed, the Air Bag is completely unneeded. The seat belt is more than sufficient, and is all that is required to save a life.

While it is easy to see when an Air Bag kills, it's not so easy to see when an Air Bag actually saves a life. No one can deny that Air Bags always injure, but who decides when it helped? The driver? The emergency crew? All too often it is the Air Bag that gets the credit for saving someone's life in an accident, when it was their seat belt that saved their life - not the Air Bag! Typically, people falsely give credit to the Air Bag because they can't imagine it not having helped. Most of this comes from great marketing by the auto makers. If people were to honestly investigate traffic accidents, they would quickly understand that only through the use of seat belts are lives saved.

The same way a gun is considered a weapon because it can be used to kill, an Air Bag should also be considered a weapon - a loaded weapon! While Air Bags don't always kill, they always injure! If people are not required to have guns (especially ones pointed at their heads), they should not be forced to own (or buy) Air Bags. One of the other popular ideas lately is to add more Air Bags into cars, as in side impact Air Bags. This only compounds the dangers of driving these so called safer cars. This can only be compared to playing Russian Roulette with more than one bullet.

While I wouldn't want to take away someone's option to have an Air Bag in their car (the same way people should be able to buy guns and hammers), I do want the option to not have to have one in my car. The only correct, and fair thing to do is make Air Bags an option. Those who do not want one should not be forced to pay for it, or it's removal. I personally would really like to see bigger glove boxes and storage pockets, along with normal steering wheels.

Except for the cost involved, I would think the Auto makers would like to see Air Bags become an option. After all, they never wanted to be forced to install them in the first place. I believe it was on an old Phil Donahue show that representatives from the Auto makers stated that they did not want to make Air Bags standard equipment because they knew they killed children and small women. I still don't understand how people don't see that what can kill women and children will at the very least injure or kill them. Perhaps the best way to determine what Air Bag design will be next, would be to let the people making the decision feel what it's like to have the Air Bag go off in front of them. I think things would lead to some very different ideas.

Unfortunately for us all, it appears that Auto makers have been using the Air Bag as a crutch. It has been made apparent that seat belts have become less effective lately because they have been designed around the idea of having the Air Bag as the main restraint system. These new weaker seat belts designs are a major danger. It is only through the design of a properly working seat belt system that anyone will ever be safe in a car This brings me to my next point, who is supposed to be in a car any way?

I'm sure almost everyone feels they should be allowed in a car. Not so, says the National Highway Safety Administration. According to them, as far as front seat occupants go, no children or short people should consider sitting in the front seats, especially the drivers seat. If you are short and want to risk it, they recommend that you sit at least ten inches from the steering wheel. If, at this minimum distance, you can't reach the pedals, you are told to buy pedal extensions. I suppose they dont realize how dangerous it would be if an extension fell off.

Elderly people are not claimed to be at any more of a risk as long as they sit further back, but even now they are still not sure what to think about pregnant women. One group of people that isn't mentioned are larger (heavier) people. Unfortunately for them, even sitting back as far as they can will still put a large portion of their body only inches from the steering wheel. What can be done for them? Sit in the back seat and get more pedal extensions?

Other important suggestions are to keep your hands at the edges of the steering wheel. This is because your arms can be broken by an inflating Air Bag. It is admitted that broken arms and hands are the most common injury from Air Bags. Also very common is hearing loss, although, fortunately, it is usually temporary. While I don't agree with all their views, it is nice to see that they admit that Air Bags are much more dangerous than most people know.

How can anyone justify me not having the choice of where I, or anyone else, can sit in a car? When I have children, I want them to be able to sit right next to me. This is without the fear of an Air Bag killing them if I should get in a minor accident. Remember that the auto makers and NHTSA want all children to sit only in the back seat. They don't tell you, however, what to do if you need to take more children than will fit in your back seat. What about people, like realtors and little league coaches, who need to take others in their cars? I know my (short) mother (who is a realtor) often wonders about these things.

I can't imagine what people are thinking when they admit to all these problems and still force you into having an Air Bag in your car. I personally feel as if they have brain washed themselves. They claim that the "Media reports mislead people... (that they) are especially vulnerable to inflation injuries." Is this to say that they (the NHSA) don't ever mislead people with their reports. I think it works both ways. I think what it all boils down to is that this is one issue best left to the consumer. I will never own a car with an Air Bag, but that does not mean someone else should not have the chance to have one. If the NHSA wants to make everyone happy, they must make Air Bags as an option.

At this point I ask that if any of this made a difference in the way you think about Air Bags, or if it simply backed-up what you thought already, that you start to try and make a difference yourself. Write letters to the auto makers, the NHSA, the NHTSA, and government officials (both local and national) and ask that they make a change. Since the squeaky wheel gets the grease, it's time that people start making some noise. If we don't all stand up now, we will eventually start to loose the ability to make other decisions. Remember when a cassette radio and power windows were an option? It's only going to get worse.