sitting too close to the airbag (taurus)

hiya...I told my parents I'd post this to see what could be done.

My mom drives a '93 Taurus with a driver's airbag.  She's only 5'1",
so she sits close to the steering wheel so she can reach the pedals
and the wheel.  My dad and I don't think this is good, though, because
if the airbag ever went off, it would be bad for her.

What are our options?

• Can you disable the airbag?
• Can you install a switch so you can turn it off if she's driving, and back on if someone else is driving?
• Can I just "detonate" the airbag, cut it out, and have no problemo?
• They're actually in the market (to replace their other car), and I said they should get one that has adjustable pedals...although I don't know much about it (what cars have them).

Any ideas would be great guys, thanks!!!

Take the battery (+) terminal off and disconnect the air bag wire from under the driver side dash. The wires are very well labelled. You will also get a AIR BAG light on your dash that you will have to bypasss or take the bulb out.

Thanks for the reply!

Is it possible to hook up a switch inline with the airbag wire to disconnect/connect the airbag for different drivers?

so you want to disable a device that could save your mums (sorry for you americans- mom) life ?  What is better- she gets sore ears for a few days (from the bang), grazes from the air bag (that heal) or she dies due to the air bag not going off???

Sorry, I don't agree- leave the air bag alone.

Talking to our local car dealers- height should not be an issue- manufactures take this into account when design the stuff.

also, (it may not apply in the USA ) but when you remove a factory fitted safety device, the car will no longer pass its warrent of fitness (a 6mthly check of the vehicle to ensure it is in safe , road worthy condition). This is the case in New Zealand.

There is an 18" safety zone that you have to be away from the air bag when deployed. IF you are within this 18" the risk of injury is higher and also the fatality issue can arise as well ( but not for certain ). That is why most of the vehicles today you can disable the airbags with  a switch of the key and this is a manufacturer installed feature. It's the right of the driver wether or not they wish to have an active or deactivated airbag in their vehicle wether or not it's safe or unsafe.

I agree with Glynn about the height factor is not an issue rather the torso and leg length is a factor. You can be 5' tall but if your torso is 3 feet of this height then you are of average torso height for people who are 6' and over. Make sure that your Mom wants this safety feature to be deactivated and do your research about this topic first before you decide to take this away.

Yea, it's definitely not something we'd just take away...that's why I'm researching it now

The car is her everyday driver, and she sits way too close.  Being that she's only ~5', her torso is only a few inches from the steering wheel (and the airbag).  She is definitely closer than 18", probably even less than 12".  In this case, I can almost guarantee the bag would do way more harm than good.  This is why we're researching.  Don't they have cars with adjustable pedals so you can sit farther from the wheel?

Thanks again for the input.

I know some of the new Fords have the adjustable foot pedals for shorter people. Other than that I haven't heard any other compnaies with then or just didn't notice it. If she's less than 12" from the steering wheel. I would consider disabling the airbag as well.... I'll take the heat for this one but your right, it will probably do more damage than good.

Yea, don't worry, I"m not going to go disconnect the wire without them knowing or something .  We've just been talking about it lately.  Possible that my dad might get this car, and we'll get a new(er) one with adjustable pedals for my mom.  But then again, there's always the chance that she'll drive it occassionally.  Anywho, I'll let them know what I found out.

Instead of disconnecting it, by the way, can you just cut it, put a switch inline, and then reconnect?  That was a pretty basic way of asking, but I'm not sure about things like the airbag going off when you connect the wires to the switch, or reconnect the battery cable.

I would highly suggest that you do not do this. Any tampering with the airbag wires could result in fatality or injury.

I've just come across this, apparently it is illegal in your country to remove a safety device ??? Something to think seriously about.

August 30, 2002 -- An article published on Aug. 16 by USA Today reported that Federal vehicle safety investigators are gathering information about custom shops that remove air bags from steering wheels to install TVs. Federal law prohibits removing a safety device from a car.

Here is some information about the legislation of the Bill: https://mlis.state.md.us/2002rs/fnotes/bil_0008/sb0608.doc

Please read this carefully and it states that you can not remove or alter a safety device, but you can disable it.

that artical in the USA Today said removing air bag is federal offence and $5000 fine.. the artical is online at USAtoday.com and search for airbags.. also artical at me-mag.com

George

WOW, this is quite deeper than I expected