So we're talking 30 lives saved for every one lost. It's estimated that air bags reduce the risk of dying in a direct frontal collision by 30 percent. Some of these numbers are a little shaky. Thirty years ago Ralph Nader argued that people didn't use seat belts and that a passive system like air bags was the only answer. Even today, with mandatory seat belt laws, only about 65 percent of auto users buckle up.
Air bags save a lot of the heedless types.
But if you're careful and put the kids in the back, etc., you can minimize the danger. Many of these were short drivers who presumably sat close to the steering wheel and were hit by the air bag as it expanded. Short people are now eligible to have a switch installed that lets them disable the air bag. But let's set aside the special cases. Air bags basically work and aren't the dangerous boondoggle that some folks think.