Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Airbags in taxis: you may get what you wish for...

More people are clamouring for airbags to be fitted in taxis. We know the spark was that recent tragic road accident in which a Ferrari sports car was believed to have ran a red traffic light at high speed and hit a taxi, a Hyundai Sonata.

Three people died: the driver of the Ferrari, the taxi driver, and his young woman passenger (who, one must presume, sat in the back seat). Only the young woman passenger in the (two-seater) sports car survived.

But how did the idea that mandatory airbags in taxis would be a good idea take hold? We do not know if airbags would have prevented the three deaths and -- importantly -- if this safety feature had prevented the sole survivor's death (assuming, of course, that there was/were airbag/s on her side and that it/they had deployed and cushioned her as designed).

Apart from the coroner's inquiry, there should now also be an airbag-related safety inquiry too. But the public clamour has jumped the gun:




http://news.insing.com/tabloid/calls-for-airbags-in-taxis-get-louder/id-914b3f00

True, Singaporeans felt anguished by the unnecessary loss of lives in that accident. And, to be fair, many have called for other measures too. But airbags are not a panacea. That is not to say they have not saved lives or prevented serious injury. There are statistics to show that they have. But that's not a foolproof claim. And they come with "costs" and implications which people should be aware of.

The website ehow.com has put up links to the pros and cons of having airbags fitted:

http://www.ehow.com/list_7448972_pros-cons-having-airbags.html

http://www.ehow.com/list_7456776_pros-airbags_.html

http://www.ehow.com/list_6884544_cons-airbags.html

You should read all the links above. Here is the introductory extract:

Airbags save lives. This is a short and simple statement, and it's true, government tests have shown the safety benefits of airbags. But there are cons to having airbags in your car. They can be dangerous to children and small adults and can cause serious injury if anyone in the car isn't wearing his seat belt or isn't wearing it properly. 
There is another website which takes a more nuanced stance, and which ultimately concludes in its article "12 airbag benefits, airbag costs" that the costs outweigh the benefits of fitting airbags:
Even after 10 million deployments, no reliable estimates of how the device affects different levels of injuries have been published in peer-reviewed literature. No ongoing benefit-cost studies are being performed... Spending one hundredth of one percent of the cost of airbags on research evaluating their in-use performance could provide more confident answers to many key questions.
The airbag is not worth anything near what it costs. As [seat]belt use increases it becomes worth still less. If wiser safety policy leads to fewer crashes, the airbag becomes worth even less. Even if airbags did not have innumerable problems, including killing occupants in minor crashes, it is still indefensible public policy to compel consumers [ie, in the US] to purchase items that provide less benefit than they cost. The present US airbag mandate requiring that vehicles be fitted with airbags should be rescinded. Vehicle manufacturers should be permitted to offer them as options, giving consumers freedom of choice.
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Two concluding points...
* I am not sure if the clamour in Singapore is a call for airbags only for the taxi driver or for his passengers too. There are airbags and there are airbags. A single airbag just for the driver (fitted into the steering wheel) is designed to only protect against frontal impact. The Ferrari had hit the taxi's side.
Multiple airbags typically offer protection (caveat: depending on the type of collision) for only four adult-sized seatbelt-wearing people, including the cabby. If there is a child passenger, how does one ensure the child faces backwards?
* I do not know the cost -- following an accident -- of replacing an airbag but let's say it is $2,000 here. Many cars now come with six or even more airbags. Replacing six airbags will cost $12,000 (this is apart from other repair costs).
While, if the policy is a comprehensive one, the insurer will likely foot the bill, it may decide to have the vehicle scrapped instead and pay you its "prevailing market value". If the car about to be scrapped is not so new anymore, and there is a recession, but you still have a hefty loan balance to take care of, you might just have be having a cash flow problem as a result.

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