I was told by the car dealer that having the front passengers airbag on the 156 switched off was a U.S. requirement. However according to the manual it should be switched off for children. My son is nine and sometimes sits in the front of the car, should I switch the airbag off or not?

Brad

Hi Guys
The reason is if a person is below a certain height and body mass (young child or small adult) they could sustain serious injury or death from the detenation of the airbag. Car manufactures have warnings not to carry small children, not sure if they state min weight,height however there is a known standard if you like. We have had this discussion at work and ill try to dig up some figures (I work as an engineer in the car industry - which explains my crappy spelling!)
Alfa were quite forward in having this feature, have not seen it on other vehicles and its a great idea

Brad Id switch it off, I used to in my 147 when I carried kids who were old enough to ride up front

Given what the crazy italians are like wouldnt be suprised if the infant car seats were in the front seat !!!!!!

Cheers
Pep

Yes I'm sure the car dealer did say US Regulation. Unfortunately haven't found age requirement in handbook. I've search web as well.

Cheers
 
Brad

The consensus seems to be 13 and over should be okay.  As long as they're not smoking a pipe.

From Wiki:-

"Safe use of airbags

An unrestrained or improperly restrained occupant can be seriously injured or killed by a deploying airbag. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends drivers sit with at least 25 cm (10") between the center of their breastbone and the center of the steering wheel. Children under the age of 13 years should always be properly restrained in a rear seat[21]. A rear-facing infant restraint must never be put in the front seat of a vehicle with a front passenger airbag. A rear-facing infant restraint places an infant's head close to the airbag, which can cause severe head injuries, or death if the airbag deploys. Some modern cars include a switch to disable the front passenger airbag, (although not in Australia, where rear-facing child seats must not be used in the front where an airbag is fitted), in case a child-supporting seat is used there.

Smoking a pipe should be avoided while driving. If the airbag inflates and hits the pipe, it is likely to be fatal, even if the crash is moderate."

Hey Brad

Yeah the Pug (nice easy way to refer to peugoet without having to spell the frikkin full word - crazy frenchies!) would be the same so young kids should probably ride in the back. Some state the under
12/13 year old as a reference like Sheldons Wiki extract although as you know everyones built differently.

its a bit of a safety factor for the car manufactures as the airbag works well with the dummy (or dude)
sitting at the correct distance away who is within the height and weight tolerence. The crash test dummy
will try and replicate a range of people weights heights usually average male/female but there are limitations such as kids, small humans, my missus (no she still rides up front!) etc hence the warnings.

Im sure theres something bout smokin a pipe too as long as its packed with straight tobacci !!!!!!
If you pack the pipe with the funny stuff you should sit in the back........... 

I've just returned from the US and while riding in a big ass Chev SUV I noticed a switch on the dash to turn off the passenger airbag, it struck me as a strange thing to have, it makes much more sense now!