Some parts inside the car help save lives in the event of a major accident. Among them, the first thing that comes to mind is the seat belt. But apart from the seat belt, another life-saving device is the airbag. An airbag is a small, soft cushion of air.
Airbags are installed over the seats and along the doors. Some cars have up to 6–8 airbags. At first, many people had concerns regarding the use of airbags. Eventually, the use of airbags will be the product of extensive research and testing by researchers.
Well, are you more concerned about safety? Then you should know some good driving habits that can save you from accidents.
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How Did Airbags Come to Mind?
When the car moves, the passenger sitting inside the car also moves; that is, people also have motion. And even when the car stops, people keep moving. According to Newton’s first law of motion, when an object starts moving, it will continue to move until it is stopped. Keeping this formula in mind, let us move forward.
We know seatbelts have been a safety feature for decades. But the seatbelt only restrains your body, not your head. So according to Newton’s law, when you sit in the car with your seatbelt fastened, your head will continue to move forward due to the speed. And when there is an accident, first of all, your head will hit the steering wheel or the side glass. The idea of airbags comes to mind as a solution.
What is An Airbag?
An airbag is a safety feature in a car that immediately fills with air if the vehicle crashes and is designed to protect passengers who are flung forward in the impact.
Why is an airbag important?
Airbags are commonly known as supplementary restraint systems (SRS). Here, supplementary means that the airbag acts as a complement to the seatbelt and helps the seatbelt. It is also foolish to rely only on the airbag without fastening the seatbelt. Primarily, an airbag inflates when the vehicle decelerates during an accident.
All cars sold in America since 1998 have had airbags for both the driver and passenger. According to a statistic, this airbag saves the lives of about 30% of the passengers sitting in the front seat of the car during an accident.
How Does An Airbag Work?
Now we will try to learn how an airbag works. We see that the bag comes out in just a second when the car is involved in a major accident and saves people’s lives. But how does it happen? Let’s know
- When the car hits something, it slows down very quickly.
- The accelerometer detects and transmits information about changes in motion. An accelerometer is an electronic chip that measures acceleration.
- If the vehicle is decelerating properly, the accelerometer’s trigger quickly de-energizes the airbag circuit. Which is not possible to produce that much power with a normal brake.
- The airbag circuit passes electricity through a component that produces heat. The wire inside the toaster is just like the wire used for this current flow.
- The heat-producing element causes a chemical explosion. Older airbags used sodium to detonate. Newer airbags use different chemicals.
- When an explosion occurs, a lot of gas is produced. The gases are not harmful. Usually, nitrogen or argon gas is produced. And those gases accumulate in a nylon bag behind the steering wheel.
- When the airbag deploys, gas accumulates inside the plastic cover and covers the steering wheel just in front of the driver. And to open this bag, a kind of chalk powder is used so that the bag opens easily.
- Due to the forward motion (according to the law of motion), the driver pushes the bag in the opposite direction. Through this shock, the gas inside the bag inflates the bag. The entire bag then exits through the little openings around the bag. And when the car stops, the bag completely opens.
You can read our article if you are a new driver
A Few Things That Will Help You to Take Full Advantage of Airbags
- Sit as far back as possible on the seat. Sit on the driver’s side in such a way that there is no difficulty reaching the pedals.
- Although different car designs vary, however, the driver can move his seat up to 10 inches. And if it is inconvenient to see the road due to sitting too far back, then you can sit with the car seat raised. Maybe not all cars have a booster seat system, but you can sit on a separate mattress.
- Try to sit in line with your chest, not with your head or neck next to the airbag. In that case, the steering wheel should be bent and sat, and if the steering wheel can be moved, then sit conveniently.
- Children 12 years of age or younger should always ride in the rear seat.
- Never sit in the driver’s side seat with airbags for children under one year and weighing less than 10 kg.
- A booster seat should be kept at the back for children older than one year. And make sure everything in the booster seat is securely fastened to the car. Otherwise, a serious accident may occur.
Final Word
Finally, an airbag is one of the useful safety systems used in modern automobiles. Its appeal as a lifesaving device has also grown significantly. However, this technology still needs some development and reliability.
