Airbags; Gimmick or Safety Device?
During the years when cars became affordable, the number of accidents also increased. Thus, the invention of safety features like Airbags started. For some, seat belts are not enough to protect them from crashes. So what exactly is an airbag? An Airbag is a vehicle safety device that consists of a flexible envelope designed to inflate rapidly during a collision, to prevent occupants from striking interior objects such as the driver's steering wheel or a window.
In 1951, airbag was designed by a German Engineer named Walter Linderer and was granted a patent. After him, another two engineers, an American and a Japanese were also awarded a patent within ten years from 1953 to 1963 in different countries. They work by using different sensors around the vehicle. When the sensors are triggered, a gas generator propellant will inflate the nylon fabric bag. These are designed to absorb and reduce impact of the occupants.
A deploying airbag
Airbags were introduced in American cars in the mid 1970s. The early fleet of experimental cars with airbags had problems. And one of the seven accidents was suspected to be caused by the airbag.
Airbags of a Hyundai Equus
Image Source: http://lookslikeacar.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-2012-hyundai-equus-launch-in-us-in.html
There are several types of airbags that are used in cars. The most common is the front airbags (driver and passenger side). Most countries today require to have at least one airbag as standard equipment on the whole line up of cars. Mercedes Benz introduced the high end S Class in 1981 with an airbag option, together with seat belts that have pretensioners that automatically reduce the motion of occupants in collision. This integrated the airbag and the seat belt as Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) rather than using an airbag as an alternative to seat belts. Using seat belts alone is a wrong method because seat belts help one keep in his position and it also reduces the chance of hitting objects. Another example of an airbag is a side airbag. Side airbags are used for protecting passengers during a roll over or side collision. These airbags are said to reduce head injuries or fatalities by up to 45%. They also come in different forms, e.g. Curtain, tubular and door mounted, depending on the design of the vehicle. Other types of airbags are knee airbags for leg protection, rear curtain airbags for the protection of rear passengers, center airbag for side impact protection for rear passengers, and lastly, the seat belt airbag. In the 1970s, airbags were also tested in motorcycles in the UK Transport Research Agency. Honda, which first introduced the production motorcycle with an airbag, claims that sensors in the front fork can detect a severe collision, thus deploying the airbag and absorbs some forward energy.
Toyota iQ rear curtain airbag
Honda motorcycle airbag
In theory, airbags are believed to protect passengers from different types of collisions, however, facts also supported that airbags may have different problems like deploying on the wrong time and wrong position, like for example, if you are caught in an accident with your head on the window, it might increase head injuries because it might push your head on the glass. And if you hit a minor accident, airbags may deploy immediately even though it is not that severe. Again, Airbags are NOT seat belt replacements, but for an added protection. (85%)
i wonder what it feels to hit the airbag??? :D REM! let's try it some time! hahahaa joke
ReplyDeleteWell said. :D Hands down. I'm not going to argue about cars here. HAHA
ReplyDeleteVery informative Rem. Thanks for sharing your knowledge about CARS. :)) LOL.
ReplyDelete