When air bags were devised, only about 1 in 10 people were buckling up. That means air bags must inflate with tremendous speed and force. The typical passenger air bag explodes from its storage space at 140 mph or more. An air bag designed to meet an adult's chest can hit a small child on the face or head with enough force to break the neck or fracture the skull. Even babies in a safety seat are vulnerable if they're in the front seat.
Unrestrained kids are also at serious risk.
More than 20 of the child fatalities were unbelted or wearing only the lap portion of the safety belt. Short drivers are also at risk. Some 19 adults, mostly women under five feet two inches, have been killed by a driver's-side air bag. But only four are thought to have been properly belted. The agency hopes these will be available for the 1999 model year.