Airbags saved 50,000 lives between 1987 and 2017, but many cars have switches that allow you to turn off the passenger airbag. When and why should you do this?
Airbags have been in development since the 1950s, were first used on the 1973 Oldsmobile Toronado, and have been standard equipment in the U.S. since 1999. Airbags are proven lifesavers, so why do many cars have a passenger airbag on/off switch? These switches allow you to disable the passenger airbag so it doesn’t deploy in the event of a crash. But why would you want to deactivate such an important safety feature?
The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) specifies a few scenarios where switching off the passenger airbag is preferred. This depends on the size of the person sitting on the passenger seat and if you have to put a rear-facing baby seat there because of limited rear seat space.
