Car owners often add accessories to make their vehicles feel more personal, from seat covers and phone holders to badges and decorative trim. But some small additions can create large safety risks, especially when they are placed near airbags.
One example is the growing concern around decorative steering wheel emblems. These adhesive accessories, often covered in crystals or rhinestones, are designed to sit over the manufacturer's badge in the centre of the steering wheel. They may look like simple decoration, but safety reports show they can become sharp, fast-moving objects during a collision.
The danger comes from the airbag. A driver's airbag deploys with tremendous speed and force, and it is designed around the vehicle's original steering wheel components. If a loose or brittle accessory is stuck to the airbag cover, deployment can tear it away and launch pieces towards the driver.
Recent reporting by The Safety Record highlights a series of serious injuries linked to these products, including a 2024 crash involving a Honda Accord in which a decorative steering wheel piece reportedly caused the driver to lose an eye. The same report also describes a later incident involving a crystal emblem that resulted in eye loss and brain injury.
The risk has also drawn official attention. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a consumer alert in 2023 warning drivers not to buy or use decorative steering wheel emblem decals. It said the products could detach when an airbag deploys and cause serious injury or death. In 2024, the agency repeated the warning after a driver suffered severe facial and neck injuries from metal pieces of a rhinestone decal.
Medical case reports have reinforced the warning. Cureus documented penetrating injuries to the face and neck caused by fragments from a metal steering wheel decoration, while another Cureus report described a penetrating brain injury linked to an aftermarket emblem.
The message for motorists is clear: anything placed over an airbag should be treated as a potential hazard. Vehicle customisation should never interfere with built-in safety systems, and attractive accessories are not worth the risk of permanent injury.
Staff Writer
Reporting from the front lines of the automotive industry, delivering expert analysis and the technical updates that drive the South African motor sector forward.
