An airbag or supplemental inflatable restraint[1] is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate in milliseconds during a collision and then deflate afterwards. [2] . It consists of an airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor.
Airbags are inflatable cushions built into a vehicle that protect occupants from hitting the vehicle interior or objects outside the vehicle (for example, other vehicles or trees) during a collision. The instant a crash begins, sensors start to measure impact severity.
Learn about the safety benefits of frontal and side airbags and how to safely position yourself and passengers to avoid an airbag related injury.
Like seat belts, the concept of the airbag -- a soft pillow to land against in a crash -- has been around for many years. The first patent on an inflatable crash-landing device for airplanes was filed during World War II. In the 1980s, the first commercial airbags appeared in automobiles.
Airbags are very simple but also amazingly clever, because they have to open in a couple of hundredths of a second—faster than a car can crash! [1] . Let's take a closer look at how they work.
Car airbags are safety devices that are designed specifically to deploy quickly in the event of a significant collision. Airbags systems are designed to help protect the occupants of a vehicle from injury by providing a cushioned surface to absorb the force of an impact.
Thousands have survived crashes since they've been required—but some airbags are now under recall. Here is what you should know about those problems, and the latest technology. Crash tests, and...