Driving Techniques Changing Due to Air Bags
from WRAL.com
Ah…the “Drivers’ Ed” memories: The movies designed to scare teenagers into becoming more cautious… the drill-sergeant instructors constantly reminding us to keep our hands at “10 and 2.” It was good advice then, but as car and their safety features have evolved, so have drivers’ ed guidelines.
According to an article on WRAL.com the American Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association, a national group of driving instructors, is issuing new guidelines that change age-old driving techniques and take into account vehicles’ newer safety features, including the advice to hold your hands in the 10-and-2 position.
“If there’s a collision and an air bag deploys, that puts your fingers and hands in the way,” William Powell, a driver education instructor in Garner, said.
The new recommendations keep hands and arms away from the path of airbag deployment. Now, experts recommend keeping hands lower on the steering wheel, at the 8-and-4 or 9-and-3 position. In addition, experts no longer recommend crossing arms when turning. Instead, they are telling drivers not to cross arms over the airbag, and to push and pull the wheel around during a turn.
“You want the air bag to be able to do its job if it’s ever deployed,” Powell said. “That means it comes out at 250 mph, and it won’t hit you in the face.”
To read the full article on WRAL.com, click here: New car safety features make some driving techniques unsafe
And we have a video about why airbags sometimes don’t deploy. Check it out here: Why didn’t my air bag deploy?
