I think its time to say I'm sorry!

 

wow i thought it was real when i read it first, i was like "wow what did (or who) cru get into" but all kidding aside congrats on almost being a dad

 

I wasn't kidding, she's going to anyway after the baby arrives.

 

Four things:

One: There's no switch in the glovebox to disable the driver's side airbag. The Fed would seriously frown on that, and besides it'd make it unfairly easy for the tort lawyers to collect their 40 percent.
Two: Many dealers and service shops won't touch that job with a 10-foot pole for liability reasons. If you want it disabled, you'll have to find a shadier (or less paranoid) shop to do it. Or you'll have to do it yourself. There may be a fuse or relay you can remove. Perhaps someone here with a copy of the ESM or FSM can check and advise.
Three: Cru's response was hilarious. (The suspicious comedic bit, not the misinformed comedic bit, although that was good too.) I'd suspect the gay guy too. They like to experiment I hear.
Four: My wife and I just had our daughter in February and I never gave a thought to disabling the air bag. In a serious front-end collision, I wanted her face, chest and abdomen hitting the relative pillowy airy softness of the airbag rather than the steering wheel. So I forced/begged/pleaded her seat back so she wasn't so close to it. She drove in the classic Italian arms-out style for nine months. Wasn't happy about it, but I felt better.

 

You forgot the horny mormon, Cru.

 

I know because we live in Vancouver you think there is a high likelihood we are Asian, and it is true that many Asian mom's ride in the back, but we are not and Sara does not. Isabella has always ridden in the back, Sophia/Ben will too, and mom will be up front. This arrangement will take place in other vehicle btw a black VW Passat wagon, slammed with 18's! No minivan for my girl.

 

Some cars have a disable switch but you have to use the ignition key, thus removing the liability cos you did, and not by accident.

I am definitely down with the seat way back approach. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

BTW I was a little concerned my wife may have overheard me on the computer muttering "**** Cru" and taken it the wrong way.

 

Oh yea thanks for reminding me.

 

Lots of cars/trucks, especially domestics, have front passenger airbag overrides, HOWEVER these systems are not for protecting pregnant mothers. It's to protect children and babies in car seats riding in the front seat. A front airbag can be deadly to a child, however you'd be a damn fool to let your children ride in the front seat unless you had no option (ie standard cab pickup, 2 seat sportscar).

I've never read anything about the dangers of airbags to pregnant women. My wife was pregnant last year and we consider ourselves well-versed in protecting our unborn/newborn child. I mean hell, we make our own baby food, put him in cloth diapers, no vaccines till 2,.... if that tells you anything about us. The only information I've read that concerns females and airbags is that women tend to sit too way close to the steering wheel. Ideally, you want to be atleast 15" away from the steering wheel.

An airbag doesn't hit you in the gut. It hits you in the face and upper chest and in the G35, the bags might also hit you from the door side too (curtain and side airbags). The baby sits low near the pelvis and is usually inverted a bit. An airbag hitting an unborn is very unlikely and like someone said before, the baby is surrounded by a ton of fluid that greatly reduces shock.

The chances of getting Infiniti to turn off the airbags is about -100%. If your wife is really concerned about this, then tell her to ride in the middle of the backseat.

 

Thanks Dave. Much appreciated. I'll have my wife read this

 

I forgot to mention that the G is equipped with the safer airbags which vary their explosive strength in relation to the crash speed.

I think you can disable the airbags yourself by simply pulling the fuse, though I wouldn't recommend this.

Your wife should read this too (From the NHTSA):

NHTSA recommends that pregnant women follow the same advice as other adults: Wear seat belts and stay as far as possible from the air bag. Wear the shoulder portion of the seat belt over the collarbone. The lap portion should ride as low as possible below the rounding, throughout the pregnancy. NHTSA recommends against pregnant women petitioning to have air bag on/off switches installed.

The best way to protect the fetus is to protect the mother. When a safety belt is worn properly, it is more likely that the fetus will not be hurt in a crash.

A recent study by the University of Michigan revealed that pregnant women wearing lap-and-shoulder belts are less likely to be seriously injured by a deploying air bag compared to unrestrained pregnant women.

Researchers found that the majority of pregnant women properly wearing a three-point belt, with or without an air bag, generally had good fetal and maternal outcomes for lower severity crashes. Though the number of cases is limited, air bags used in conjunction with three-point belts appear to have a positive effect on fetal outcome compared to three-point belt use only.

According to the study, the risk of adverse fetal outcome at a particular crash severity level is higher for improperly restrained or unrestrained pregnant women compared to properly restrained pregnant women. While placental, uterine, and fetal injuries may occur even with properly belted occupants, the majority of the cases involving these have been to unrestrained occupants.

According to the U-M study, of 31 properly restrained occupants, eight (25.8 percent) experienced fetal loss or major complications. Of 12 improperly restrained or unrestrained occupants, eight (66.7 percent) had fetal loss or major complications. These results clearly support the current recommendation for pregnant women to properly wear three-point belts.

 

Dave you're the man. Thanks so much for taking the time to post that!

 

And he may also be the baby's father.

 

That's called shifting blame.

 

Women carry babies much higher than a properly worn (low on the hips) seat belt would be positioned. My pregnant wife always complained of shortness of breath, the baby pushed right up under the rib cage and reduced volume of air she could take into her lungs.

Moving the seat back isn't a bad suggestion but I think disabling the air bag is a bad idea. She risks far greater injury from a serious accident without the air bag. Remember, you've got to protect both the unborn child AND the mother.

Finally, does she drive? That's got to be an issue if she’s relegated to the back!