Summary: Always Wear Your Safety Belt. Restrain All Children in a Rear Seat. Air bags, while they save lives, are but one of many important vehicle safety systems. It is critical that occupants always properly wear their safety belts and remember: Never put a rear-facing infant restraint in the front seat of a vehicle with a front passenger air bag. Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in a rear seat. Drivers should sit with at least 10 inches between the center of their breastbone and the center of the steering wheel. Front air bags are designed to deploy only in moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal collisions, and do not reduce the risk of injury in rear, side or rollover crashes. Safety belts help reduce injury risk in many types of crashes. Air bags deploy only once. Safety belts help restrain occupants during the initial and any following collisions, if the vehicle strikes more than one object. Safety belts help keep front seat occupants in position to maximize an air bag's effectiveness. Remember, very close or direct contact with an air bag module during deployment can cause serious or even fatal injury. (Author/publisher)
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