Number 370 March 2009

Traffic Safety Facts

Traffic Tech – Technology Transfer Series

U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conducts the Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey (MVOSS)

on a periodic basis to monitor the public’s attitudes, knowledge, and self-reported behavior regarding occupant protection devices (seat belts, child restraints, air bags). The 2007

survey consisted of two questionnaires, each administered

by telephone to a randomly selected national sample of about

6,000 persons age 16 and older. Interviewing ran from January 9, 2007 to April 30, 2007.

9 out of 10 Primary Vehicles Have Air Bags

The percentage of drivers with air bags in their primary vehicles continues to increase. In 2007, 90% reported air bags in

their primary vehicle, compared to 77% in 2003. Most (61%)

reported having driver and passenger frontal air bags only.

Another 18% said they had frontal driver and passenger air

bags as well as other air bags in their vehicle (e.g., in frontseat car doors, in rear-seat car doors, descending curtains).

Six percent reported having a driver air bag only, while 3%

said they had frontal driver and passenger air bags but were

not sure about the presence of any other type of air bag.

Other response combinations accounted for the remaining

2% of drivers. 

Preference for Air Bags

Most of the public age 16 and older (92%) would prefer to

have air bags in their next vehicle, with 90% wanting both

driver and passenger air bags and 2% wanting driver air

bags only. Five percent did not want air bags, and 3% were

unsure. The percentage preferring air bags has steadily

risen since 1996, when the question was first asked. In 1996,

72% said they would prefer that their next vehicle have air

bags.

More than three-fifths of respondents (62%) said they felt

safer in motor vehicles with air bags than in motor vehicles

without air bags. This is a 9 percentage point increase from

the 2003 number, and 20 percentage points above the 1996

number. Most others (31%) said they felt about the same in

air-bag-equipped vehicles as in vehicles not having air bags.

Three percent felt less safe in motor vehicles with air bags

and 4% were unsure. More than 9-in-10 persons believed an

air bag would provide either a lot (40%) or some (52%) protection in a crash involving major motor vehicle damage.

2007 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey 

(MVOSS) Finds Continued Strong Support for 

Air Bags 

Air Bags in Primary Vehicle, 1994-2007

100

80

60

40

20

0

24%

1994 1996 1998 2000 2003 2007

38%

53%

67%

77%

90%

Percent

Qx: Does the (car/truck/van) you normally drive 

have an air bag?

Base: Drivers whose primary vehicle is not 

a motorcycle.

Prefer Air Bags in Next Vehicle, 1996-2007

100

80

60

40

20

0

63%

9%

70%

5%

78%

4%

83%

3%

90%

2%

1996 1998 2000 2003 2007

Percent

Qx: Would you prefer that your next vehicle have 

driver air bags only, driver and passenger 

air bags, or no air bags?

Base: Total population age 16 and older.
TRAFFIC TECH is a publication to disseminate information about

traffic safety programs, including evaluations, innovative programs, and new publications. Feel free to copy it as you wish. If

you would like to receive a copy, contact Dr. Angela Eichelberger,

Editor, fax 202-366-7394, e-mail: traffic.tech@dot.gov.

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., NTI-130

Washington, DC 20590

Air Bags Do Not Substitute for Seat Belt Use

Air bags and seat belts are two parts of a vehicle’s passenger

safety system. Safety experts emphasize that drivers and passengers should always wear seat belts, regardless of whether

or not the vehicle contains an air bag. The overwhelming

majority of the public (96%) knew that the presence of air

bags does not substitute for seat belt use. Drivers were more

likely to report that they wore a seat belt “all the time” while

driving if the primary vehicle driven had air bags (88%) than

if it did not (81%).

Safety Concerns About Air Bags

Even though 92% of the public would prefer air bags in their

next vehicle, many (33%) still expressed concerns about the

safety of air bags. However, the percentage expressing safety

concerns was barely more than one-half the percentage who

expressed safety concerns in 1996. Females (37%) were more

likely to have safety concerns than were males (28%). When

asked what concerns they had, the respondents tended to

refer specifically to injuries they believed air bags could

cause, or else described some functional characteristic of air

bags that they considered a safety issue. 

Likelihood of Injury

The majority of the public believed that an adult sitting in the

front seat would be somewhat likely or very likely injured by

an air bag that deployed in a normal manner. However, they

were more likely to believe an injury would occur if the adult

was unbelted (82%) rather than wearing a seat belt (52%).

Children were considered particularly vulnerable to injury

from air bags, with almost 90% believing a small child sitting in the front seat would bevery likely (68%) or somewhat

likely (19%) injured by an air bag opening normally.

Warning Labels in Vehicle

More than one-half (58%) of drivers who had air bags in their

primary vehicle reported that warning labels about air bags

were posted in the vehicle. Eleven percent said there were

no warning labels in the vehicle and 5% were uncertain. The

remaining 26% had said in response to a preceding question

that they had not heard or seen any safety warnings about

air bags, so they were not asked if there were warning labels

present. Warning labels were predominantly identified as

being on the sun visor (79%). Other reported locations were

the dashboard (12%), glove compartment (8%), and owner’s

manual (7%). Drivers with an air-bag-equipped vehicle were

more likely to report the presence of a warning label if the

vehicle was purchased new (64%) as opposed to used (53%).

Car Seats

The 2007 survey asked child car seat questions to a subsample of parents of children under age 9, and non-parents

living with children under 9 who at least sometimes drove

with those children. The questions were asked of those for

whom a specific child was identified who was using a child

restraint. MVOSS defined child car seat as any child restraint

appropriate for an infant, toddler, or older child too small for

a seat belt alone to fit the child properly. Almost all (99%)

knew the back seat is the safest place in the vehicle to place a

child’s car seat. Yet 3% still usually placed the car seat in the

front. The percentage was 1% if the respondent’s primary

vehicle had a passenger frontal air bag.

How to Order

For a copy of 2007 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey, Volume 3 Air Bags Report (42 pages plus Appendix) prepared by

Schulman, Ronca, and Bucuvalas, Inc., write to the Office of

Behavioral Safety Research, NHTSA, NTI-130, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, or send a fax to 202-

366-7394, or download from www.nhtsa.dot.gov. Alan Block

was the project manager for this study.

Have Safety Concerns About Air Bags, 

1996-2007

80

60

40

20

0

62%

51% 46% 43%

33%

1996 1998 2000 2003 2007

Percent

Qx: Do you have any concerns about the safety of

air bags?

Base: Total population age 16 and older.