Air Bags & Parts

An airbag, also known as a Supplementary/Secondary Restraint System (SRS), is a flexible membrane or envelope, inflatable to contain air or some other gas. more...

Air bags are most commonly used for cushioning, in particular after very rapid inflation in the case of an automobile collision. It was marketed for automobiles first by Allen Breed in 1967, to Chrysler, after his invention of the ball-in-tube sensor for crash detection.

Automobile airbags

There have been airbag-like devices for aeroplanes as early as the 1940s, though the first actual example in a production car was in 1974, when dual airbags were an option on several full-sized Cadillacs, Oldsmobiles, and Buicks.

The design is conceptually simple—accelerometers trigger the ignition of a gas generator propellant to very rapidly inflate a nylon fabric bag, which reduces the deceleration experienced by the passenger as they come to a stop in the crash situation. The bag has small vent holes to allow the propellant gas to be (relatively) slowly expelled from the bag as the occupant pushes against it.

On July 11, 1984, the U.S. government required cars to have driver's side air bags or automatic seat belts by 1989. Over 15,000 lives have been saved by air bags in the last 20 years since. Initially, most vehicles featured a single airbag, mounted in the steering wheel and protecting the driver of the car (who is the most at risk of injury). During the 1990s, airbags for front seat passengers, then separate side impact airbags placed between the door and occupants, became common. In 1991 Congress mandated that all new passenger vehicles be equipped with driver and passenger air bags by 1998.

Statistics show that passengers in cars fitted with airbags have approximately 30% less chance of dying in an accident than in comparable cars without airbags fitted. Despite this, airbags have occasionally caused controversy, as the initial expansion of the bag is in itself a violent event, and if an individual is too close to the airbag when it is initially triggered they can be seriously injured or killed. This was partly due to American airbag designs triggering much more quickly than airbags designed for other countries, to protect occupants not wearing seat belts. Newer airbags trigger slightly less violently; nonetheless, passengers must remain at least 25 centimetres (10 in) from the bag to avoid injury from the bag in a crash.

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