Answers to the Air Bags Quiz

1. Air bags are only a supplement to safety belts.

True. Air bags supplement the protection provided by safety belts. They distribute the force of impact more evenly over the occupant's upper body in frontal and front-angle collisions.

2. An air bag will protect you in most types of collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts and side impacts.

False. In those cases, the air bag is not helpful because the occupant's motion is not toward the steering wheel or instrument panel.

3. Air bags are designed to deploy only once.

True. After it inflates, the air bag system must be replaced. Without repair, it will not provide protection in another crash.

4. An infant in a rear-facing child safety seat is safe in the front seat of a car with a passenger side air bag.

False. If the air bag deploys, it will hit the back of the infant seat with such speed and force that the infant is very likely to suffer serious or even fatal injuries.

5. Air bags kill more people than they save.

False. Twenty per cent fewer driver deaths occur in frontal crashes of cars equipped with air bags. In all types of crashes, the fatality reduction is about 14 per cent for cars with air bags over and above lives already being saved by safety belts.