Air Bag Safety

During a vehicle collision or a crash, the people who are most susceptible to suffer from serious injuries include small kids in the front seat of the car, adults with a smaller body who need to sit closer to steering wheel, pregnant women and obese adults. Air bags are safety devices used in vehicles to protect the occupants during a collision.  Traditionally seatbelts were the only form of protection but now, more and more car companies have started realising the reliability of technology used in air bag safety. These air bags provide the drivers as well as the passengers with an important safety measure in case a crash or collision occurs. The first air bags were installed in vehicles in the 1980s and it has been revealed that since then, there has been a 30% decrease in the deaths caused due to auto crashes.

The main role of the air bags is to provide protection to the passengers in an automobile crash and these air bags are able to keep the damages to the minimal extent. Basically, these air bags are a kind of cushions inflated with gas which are quickly discharged from the hidden compartments. The compartments are usually hidden in several parts of the vehicle including dash boards, steering columns, doors, seats and roof rails. By hyper-inflating, these air bags protect the passengers and the driver in case of a crash and accident. Air bags are able to soak up the impact from a crash by making a cushion, thus reducing the extent of injuries that an vehicle occupant may undergo.

An air bag is usually made up of thin nylon material and consists of three basic parts: bag, inflators and crash sensors. The air bag receives signals from the crash sensors in event of a collision and the inflators start igniting a solid propellant which burns quickly. Thus, large gas volume is created for inflating the bag, thus protecting the torso, face and other parts of body of the passengers and the driver. The gas is extremely harmless and bags are instantly inflated in event of a crash.

Air bag safety is one of the most important features in an automobile and because safety is the number one priority while travelling in a vehicle, a large number of vehicle occupants are installing this device in their vehicles. Keeping in mind the safety of the vehicle occupants, several car manufacturers have even started selling their vehicles along with air bags already installed in them.