Even worse, some of those deaths occurred in what should have been mere fender-benders. The clearest risk is to children in rear-facing seats.
Air bags can also be deadly to older children in the front seat.
Because children have weaker back, neck, and stomach muscles, as well as a head that is larger relative to their body size, it's harder for them to maintain an upright position in even a gentle collision. So they face a greater risk of coming face to face with the blunt force of the bag as it expands. If a full car forces you to seat a toddler or older child up front, slide the front seat as far back as possible before installing an appropriate child seat or booster. If you meet either of these criteria, you can ask a dealer or car repair garage to disable your passenger side air bag. And in some models the air bags are positioned farther from the edge of the dash to reduce the chances of injury.