who should sit in the rear of the vehicle to protect themselves from airbag impact in case of a crash?

Passengers age 12 and under should sit in the rear seat to protect themselves from airbag impact in case of a crash.

Quick Scoop

Children are more vulnerable to the force and deployment speed of front airbags because their bodies, necks, and heads are still developing and cannot tolerate the same impact as adults. Placing them in the rear keeps them farther from the airbag module and reduces the risk of serious head, neck, and chest injuries in a collision.

Why the rear is safer

• Front airbags deploy extremely fast and with significant force, which is tuned for adult bodies, not children.

• Sitting in the back increases the distance from the dashboard and steering wheel, lowering the chance that an airbag will strike a child’s head or neck directly.

• Safety guidelines and many test-style questions now commonly specify that children around 12 and under should ride in the rear whenever possible to reduce airbag-related injury risk.

Extra child safety tips

• Never place a rear-facing child seat in front of an active frontal airbag, as the airbag can strike the back of the seat and cause severe injury.

• Use age- and size-appropriate restraints (rear-facing seat, forward-facing seat, booster, then seat belt) and keep children properly buckled in the rear seat for every trip.

• The center rear seat, when equipped with a proper belt, is often considered one of the safest spots because it is farthest from potential impact zones on the sides.

TL;DR: To protect against airbag impact in a crash, children/passengers age 12 and under should sit in the rear seat, properly restrained in appropriate car seats or boosters.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.