Not every safety feature that we deal with is going to be safe under any and all circumstances. A case in point, is the driver's seat airbag, which when deployed, is deployed at an estimated speed of 100 to 220 miles per hour. In addition, the distance from that deployment to the breastbone of the driver should be no less than a minimum of ten inches. The problem therefore comes from those that are typically either elderly in which they drive while bent over the steering wheel, because of vision problems or posture problems or just general old age fatigue, as well as those that are short in stature, that thereby need to be close to the steering wheel not necessarily because they want to be that close but in order to comfortably reach the brake and acceleration pedals to the car. In addition, some people sit quite close to the steering wheel for visibility purposes, or for the reaching of certain controls on the dashboard.
In virtually all cases, the people that drive in which they are closer than ten inches to the steering wheel airbag, are not cognizant of the danger of their driving position, but they surely need to be aware of it, for not every accident that necessitates in the deployment of an airbag is the type of accident that needed an airbag deployment; indicating that some car accidents at relatively minor speeds can create catastrophic injuries, such as a broken neck or even death because of the speed, impact, and force of that airbag being deployed, in which the driver, often because of their unsafe close proximity to that airbag as well as the body part being impacted by it, have been hit by that airbag while such was still accelerating in its force.
It's unfortunate, that so many people that should be aware of their driving position and therefore the danger of an airbag deployment seriously hurting them aren't actually aware of it. This would imply strongly that in the purchasing of a vehicle, that this safety feature of the car, should be something that the manufacturer or the dealer of such, should be mandated to provide to the purchaser with both written as well as video instruction to the buyer, before they are permitted authorization to drive the vehicle as the owner of it.
So too, insurance companies as well as governmental services, should be mandated to provide occasional public service announcements reminding and instructing drivers on their appropriate positioning in regards to the driving of vehicles, especially considering that airbags are mandatory on all vehicles. This is the least that should be done for the safety of drivers, for airbags are one of those safety devices, that has a significant downside when drivers are not properly positioned within their vehicle, that can result in horrific injuries, of which, the prevention of such, typically comes down to the distance of the steering wheel to the breastbone of the driver; in addition to recognizing that the driver's posture in regards to the steering wheel should never involve the driver's neck being in line with that steering wheel.