Darwin and Airbags
Posted: Tuesday, February 14, 2012
by Dianne Lehmann
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My 1992 Jeep Cherokee is very old. It will probably hit the 200,000 mile mark sometime this year. I've started to wonder just how much longer it will last and so I have been looking around online to see what is available.
I'm pretty sure that I would like another Jeep. My Cherokee fits me very well. Also I like the exterior dimensions of it. It fits nicely in our garage alongside my husband's Dodge Intrepid. And I just plain like the way it looks.
I am short. By far, I am not the shortest adult female around. I've seen some shorter than me … and they did not exhibit the signs of dwarfism. Granted, they are mostly Asian or Hispanic and I am not, but we'll just ignore that. Okay?
Being short, I have to sit fairly close to the steering wheel in order for my little feet to comfortably reach the gas pedal and the brake pedal. My sister, who is a bit shorter than me, has no qualms about driving with the tips of her toes. I don't feel that I am driving safely unless I can put my entire foot on the gas pedal and the front half of my foot on the brake pedal. This brings me very close to the air bags that are required to be installed in the steering wheels of newer vehicles. My lovely little aged Jeep does not have any air bags.
When Darwin first came out with the idea of natural selection, he created quite a stir (actually, he probably still is posthumously creating a bit of a ruckus). For myself, I think that his theory has a great deal of merit. Those individuals with adaptations that make them most able to survive in their environment survive long enough to reproduce and pass on those traits. It just makes sense to me.
Enter the airbag. Granted, it probably does save lives. And because the statistics show that they do … for the most part … the government in all its wondrous wisdom has decreed that they shall be installed and functioning in all cars manufactured from 1998 and onward.
But I've heard enough horror stories about airbags killing people to worry about my own safety in the event (which is quite likely) that my next Jeep is newer than a 1998 and equipped with airbags. Supposedly, the airbag is designed to deploy faster than your face can move toward the steering wheel when your vehicle suddenly stops moving forward, e.g. you crash into something or something crashes into you. But these things are designed with the average male driver in mind. Us short people are out of luck.
A little research revealed that Transport Canada has determined that airbags reduce the death rate by 11% for males, but increase it by 9% for females. And it doesn't even make the distinction short females.
On another site I found this: "The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that airbags installed in automobiles have saved some 10,000 lives as of January 2004. A just-released study by a statistician at the University of Georgia, however, casts doubt on that assertion. In fact, said UGA statistics professor Mary C. Meyer, a new analysis of existing data indicated that, controlling for other factors, airbags are actually associated with slightly increased probability of death in accidents.
'NHTSA recorded 238 deaths due to airbags between 1990 and 2002, according to information about these deaths on their Web site,' said Meyer. 'They all occurred at very low speeds, with injuries that could not have been caused by anything else. But is it reasonable to conclude that airbags cause death only at very low speeds? It seems more likely that they also cause deaths at high speeds, but these are attributed to the crash.'"
I'm not trying to claim that the government of the United States of America has entered into a eugenics program designed to select for taller individuals … but one has to wonder. Considering that the accident rate for teenaged drivers is higher than for all other groups (we don't need to consider the really aged because they are general no longer able to reproduce) and many teens have not yet reached their full adult height by the time they first begin driving would seem to promote the idea.
I would like to see the use of airbags made voluntary. They could be installed in all vehicles but there should be a switch that allows it to be disabled on the driver's side when a short person is at the wheel. Also, insurance companies should allow this as well and still pay out if an accident occurs and injury results while the airbag is disabled. Having a switch would allow the airbag to be re-enabled for taller drivers or even shorter drivers who feel they are still safer with an operational airbag than without.
Of course, I can see all sorts of problems in implementing such a program. Studies would have to be done to determine the maximum qualifying height of the driver (goodness only knows how long that would require and I would probably turn out to be a quarter of an inch too tall). Your insurer would have to accept the findings of the study. You would have to be measured by a third party. And in the case of young people, that would have to be done at least once a year until they had measured out at the same height for several years in a row. Still, I think it would be a worthwhile endeavor because I seriously do have misgivings about driver's side airbags. As a passenger, I sit well away from the dashboard. My husband's Intrepid, while it is a 1995 model, does have driver and passenger airbags.
Darwin was all about natural selection, but there is unnatural selection as well. I'm sure there are other ways that unnatural selection is shaping the human race.
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)Dianne, This is interesting so I discussed it with my husband. He read, some time ago, that the airbag is in the center of the steering wheel so that, if the steering wheel is in a comfortable position for the driver, all should be good; i.e. if the driver has the steering wheel facing up, like in a bus, all will not be so good.
Assuming the above is true (which I question), how about the passenger side? That comes out of the dashboard which is right at my neck -- I'm short too. So, maybe we're safer as the driver than the passenger. (I can only imagine the flack you may get from this article. WOW.)
By the way, as far as the teenage drivers? Where I live, they sit so low and so far back, the airbag probably won't even reach them!
Great job!Hi Nancy.
As I understand it the problem with the driver side airbag is that it IS in the steering wheel. In order to inflate quickly, a pyrotechnic device is employed and the bag inflates with some force. For short drivers, the inflation is not always complete before their face impacts the bag (for it to work properly it is already inflated and starting to deflate when the driver's face hits it), adding the force of the explosion to the force of the collision. This has the potential to shatter the bones of the nose and drive them into the brain.
Most passengers are far enough away from the airbag in the dashboard for it to reach the proper point in its cycle before impacting it.
As for flack from this article ... I DID put it in the Women Most Likely to Get Into Trouble Group. :)
Thanks for reading and for adding your thoughts!
Hugs,
Dianne
When they first came out they had warnings for the short and elderly to make sure seat belts were worn and they were not sitting too close to the steering wheel to avoid death and injury...do they still have warnings like that? Interesting stats you bring out
thanks. As for being told what we must do.......soon we'll have to get approval to breathe.....Hi Steve,
Many of the sites I looked at pointed out that airbags are not a replacement for seat restraints and that seat restraints should always be worn regardless.
When I told my husband that I thought we should marry some day and he agreed, he made me promise to always where a seat belt while in a car. That was on October 27, 1970 and I have never broken my promise. :)
As for still putting out that warning, I've no idea. It's been so many years since we have bought a brand new car. My Jeep has the usual admonition to always wear a seat belt on the driver's visor, however.
Thanks for stopping by.
Hugs,
Dianne
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Dianne,
As usual, you present a good take on a matter of importance. My suggestion to you height deprived writers is to wear a full faced helmet and chest protector which you can purchase at your local motorcycle store. See my avatar for an idea of proper protection (where the goatee also protects your chin).
RonHi Ron.
But that would muss my hair! I once had such a helmet, but alas, my motorcycle riding days are over. I do own two horse riding helmets, but they do not come with a full face guard nor can they be retrofitted with one. And just how full is your goatee anyway? :)
Seriously, this is an issue that has concerned me for some time. I really do wish there were alternatives for us short people.
Thanks for reading and I always enjoy your comments.
Hugs,
Dianne
If cars were all made out of Nerf materials, only, countless lives could be saved.
As deployed airbags kill little ones, be they tots or little Shetland people, would sitting on large phone books while in cars help?
Darwin would have quickly sensed his own personal extinction if he were driving on our highways, and would have evolved to ride instead on safer, slower tortoises from Galapagos .
Hugs,
PaulHi Paul.
I don't know about phone books, but attaching blocks to the gas and brake pedals has crossed my mind. :)
I like the image of Shetland people. Does make me think of Hobbits, however. Probably never find one of them driving a car. Way too sensible.
Nerf, tortoise, nerf, tortoise .... hmmm ... I think I'd choose tortoise.
Happiness and Hugs,
Dianne
I love your title, Dianne! I think it's scary that the government has forced airbags on everybody without doing enough research. It horrifies me that they save 11% more men and 9% less women. I wouldn't be surprised if some manufacturer(s) lobbied to get that law passed. Also, the fact that no distinction is made as to men and women, body padding, height etc.
I agree, they should be voluntary. Maybe you'll find a 1997 Jeep whose owner never drove it but kept it in perfect condition, just waiting for you!Hi Jennifer.
I've been looking around and ... well ... most people seem to drive a lot more than I do. Most of the Jeeps newer than mine (but older than 1998) have almost as many miles as my Jeep. I'd really like to get one with a little less wear and tear on it. :)
I was pretty disheartened when I started researching this article. And I wouldn't be surprised if you were right about the lobbying.
I could probably figure out how to illegally disable a driver's airbag, but then my insurance company probably wouldn't cover me in the event of an accident. Guess I'll just have to be an excellent driver and watch others with an eagle eye. :)
Thanks for stopping by!
Hugs,
Dianne
Hi Dianne,
I believe that the airbags can be disabled for short adults and children in the passengers seat or drivers side (I'm 5 ft tall, so I worried too). You may have to take it to a dealer but I know of people who have had that done. I have an '07 Ford Escape which will automatically disable the passenger side airbag if the passenger is under 100 lbs. Check with the dealer when you go looking for your car - I know the auto makers are aware of this problem and there are fixes out there. Good luck with your Jeep. We have a Wrangler and absolutely love it!Hi Jean.
I've thought that maybe my next Jeep would be a Wrangler. They look like a lot of fun. But what I really like about my Cherokee is the cargo capacity. We brought home all the supplies to do about 900 square feet of laminate flooring in my Jeep as well as a new stove (not at the same time) two recliners (at the same time) and all sorts of other stuff. :)
I hadn't really looked at the solutions ... just the problems ... so I'm glad to read that there are options. I guess the first thing I should do is contact my insurance company.
Anyway, thanks for the advice and thanks for stopping by! And ... Short People Unite! :)
Hugs,
Dianne
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