One in Five Traffic Fatalities Due to Missing Airbag

The study collected data from 1,446 traffic deaths between 2001 and 2006 and found that 255 of those deaths (or about 18%) involved a vehicle with an airbag that had not been replaced after a previous accident.

In addition to this grim news, this statistic does not include airbags that simply failed to deploy because of improper installation.

According to NHTSA, these missing airbags are largely due to fraud or inept repair service. The agency advises consumers to never order airbags at a discount or over the internet, despite the high cost of replacing them. Airbags are one thing you should always pay a premium for.

Study: One in Five Fatal Car Accidents Involve a Missing Airbag (Autoblog)