How safe is it for a child to sit in the front seat of car with deflated airbag?

Question

My neighbor has a newer car, a sedan with deflatable airbag in the front seat. They often let their daughter sit in the front seat w/the airbag deflated. She is 9 years old & small for her age. I told him again it worries me when I see her in the front seat. He said not to worry because of the deflated airbag. I told him it still doesn't seem very safe to me. He said her seat belt is nice & tight and that she is just as safe in the front seat as she is in the back seat & he would think about it again when she reaches 60lbs. My daughter is the same age and much taller. She is almost a head taller. I do know that when the girls sit in my van, my daughter can put her feet flat on the ground & our neighbor girl can't. What is the conventional wisdom on something like this? Is it safe for the girl to be riding like this & I should just mind my own business. Well, I'm going to be doing that anyway but wanted to find out the accurate answer. Thanks so much (& thanks for only serious replies.

Answer 1

No it is very unsafe and you are not doing anything wrong by looking into this and also you need to have a real sit down with your neighbor and explain that this is very dangerous.......

Answer 2

I don't think that a front seat without a working airbag is safer than a front seat with airbag.  For anyone of any age.

That's just my opinion.

I hope she survives.

Answer 3

I'm sure you don't mean deflated.  Turned off, deactivated perhaps.

Keep children in the back seat and the air bags turned on please.

Answer 4

not safe at all  refer to the manufacters guide , small children can be killed by the air bag

Answer 5

What do you mean by a "deflated air bag" ???????

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Do you mean that the air bag has already been deployed and is hanging out of its carrier?????  If that is the case, and I do not know what your seat belt looks like or how your neighbor's daughter's physique looks, then it could very well be a very dangerous situation in the event of a collision!  It has been known that children can "squirt" ouot of the harness or lap belt because they are so small.

Well, you warned them!  You can warn them again if the subject comes up, but unless you want to turn "snitch" and tell authorities, then I guess the best thing to do is to just let things ride as they are!  That also depends on how friendly you are with the daughter's mother!  You can talk to her as well, just as long as you are not meddling, and I would talk to her as well, but then just say that you're keeping to your own business and they can do what they want.

But I still do not know what you mean by a "deflated air bag".

Answer 6

If the car has an air bag that can be disabled, the manufacturer should be put out of business.

In most countries children under 12 MUST sit belted in, in the back seat, they are not allowed in the front. They can be injured by an airbag, and also a child can be thrown out of an adult front seat belt.

The most dangerous seat in a car is the front passenger.