My company owns a fleet of sprinter vans. The boss wants to remind everyone about some safety points, and printed vinyl stickers. He wants the stickers placed over top of the passenger airbag. Does anyone know of a law or regulation regarding this, besides the laws of common sense?
How big is the sticker?
Unless it is big enough to cover the edges of the airbag cover, I don’t see that this would be a hazard.
Good question. The sticker is roughly 4x6. The airbag cover has a slit cut into it, so I think the cover breaks in half (along the slit) when it deploys. Am I wrong about how the cover works?
John you are right. The slit is were it breaks. I would not do it. Not because its going effect the way the bag works. I dont think the stickers will last long there. I see them peeling off. I would find a better place for them.
If I drove a van that had a warning like that, I think it would ‘disappear’ Unless it’s one heck of a sticker though, if the air bag goes off, it will easily tear through it. Airbags pack a serious punch.
If your boss is that ‘safety conscious’, perhaps just voicing your concerns would make him paranoid enough to remove or relocate the stickers…
If the sticker seems to you like it might impede the air bag opperation…
simply slice the sticker with a razor blade in the same location as the air bag slit.
You’ll still be able to read the sticker and it will be segmented to separate with the air bag.
The most effective way to insure compliance is to require every employee that drives a company vehicle to sign a form where they acknowledge that the company requires the use of seat belts and that failure to do so can and will result in normal disciplinary action. Repeated violations could result in termination.
Also repeat this warning on each sheet in the logbook so the employee will see it every time they record their daily or trip mileage information.
Unless it has been tested and approved for that specific use, likely it is illegal. I might even be a hazard.
Thanks for the suggestions - I like the “slit the sticker” idea. JosephEMeehan - any thoughts on where to look for that legal info?
Contact your State Police. They can recommend someone in the state if they are not the right organization.
Tell your boss to look here. It’s a BAD IDEA to mess with safety equipment. He needs to know this. He should come up with somewhere else to put the sticker.