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In motor vehicle crashes where an occupant has been seriously or fatally injured from a deploying air bag, a common finding has been that the occupant was in close proximity to the air bag (or out-of-position) at the time of deployment. The occupant may have been out-of-position for a variety of reasons including: driver loss of consciousness, pre-impact braking, multiple impacts, rear facing child seat installation, or late firing of the air bag after the occupant has already been forced against the air bag by the crash deceleration. Considerable research has been initiated to develop new or enhanced injury countermeasures to mitigate injuries to persons, particularly children, who are out-of-position at the time of air bag deployment. This paper reports on the development of an occupant position sensor that might be used in conjunction with dual stage or multi-stage inflation technologies for modulating air bag deployment.