Do air bags save lives in vehicular accidents?
You can bet your life on it. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) publishes statistics showing the life-saving value of vehicle passenger restraint systems – seat belts, air bags and child restraints. The NHTSA began tracking the life-saving numbers in 1975, and here’s a rundown: From 1975 to 1994, air bags saved 730 lives; • 536 lives saved in 1995; • 783 in 1996; • 973 in 1997; • 1,208 in 1998; • 1,49 in 1991; • 1,716 in 2000; • 1,978 in 2001; and • 2,248 lives were saved in 2002 (the most recent year reported). “These statistics clearly show that air bags, used in tandem with seat belts, save lives, so buckle up and drive carefully,” according to Liz Neblett, spokeswoman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in Washington, D.C. The number of lives saved in vehicular accidents because of air bag use increases from year to year because “there are more and more air bags on the road every year”, Neblett adds. Neblett pointed out that since
