What is a Car Airbag? Here's How It Works & Its Function
What is a car airbag? Questions like this may have crossed your mind. In a car, safety is a very important aspect. This is because safety features help drivers to be safer.
Among the various safety features, one of the most commonly used types is the airbag. The airbag is a feature located at the front to prevent head collisions for the driver and front passengers.
However, nowadays many cars also place airbags on the sides in addition to the airbags at the front.
What is a Car Airbag?
Car airbags are an important safety innovation in recent times. This safety feature in cars provides protection when drivers experience accidents.
Where is the airbag located in the car? Usually, car airbags are hidden and deploy when an accident occurs, specifically at the front and sides. In fact, front airbags have been a safety feature for all vehicles since 1999.
Meanwhile, side airbags are not mandatory, but many manufacturers include them as standard components.
The placement of airbags at the front and sides helps save many lives. For example, front airbags alone can reduce fatal accidents by up to 29% for the driver. Then for front passengers, it can reduce by up to 32%.
Meanwhile, side airbags can protect the head and reduce the risk of driver fatalities in side-impact accidents by up to 37%.
Until now, engineers continuously seek ways to use airbags safely. The rear window airbags are intentionally designed to protect those sitting in the back seats during rear-end collisions.
Furthermore, side airbags can reduce the likelihood of passengers injuring each other during an accident.
Read Also: Benefits of Choosing a Car with Airbag Features
Function of Airbags in Cars
After understanding what a car airbag is, next you should know its functions. An airbag is a safety feature that can reduce injuries to passengers and drivers during an accident.
However, this feature does not always deploy during certain accidents, so drivers must also understand when airbags can deploy and continue to use seat belts as the primary protection.
Airbags will help act as a cushion during hard impact accidents. This feature can also help drivers and passengers avoid fatal injuries.
Especially since fatal injuries generally affect the chest, neck, and legs. Airbags typically deploy immediately after an accident occurs, protecting those body parts.
What about their location? Essentially, the location of airbags depends on your car type. Generally, airbags are located at the front. However, as mentioned above, there are also airbags located on the sides.
If only using protective gear like seat belts, this can cause severe injuries to the head and chest. However, with the presence of airbags, they can help slow down the movement of passengers in a short time when an accident occurs.
So, do all cars have airbags? Not all cars are equipped with airbags. To find out which cars are equipped with airbag components and their price range, you can click the following link Price Range of Car Airbags and List of Cars Equipped with Airbags.
How Car Airbags Work
Airbags work automatically when sensors detect a significant deceleration and a hard impact occurs in certain areas. These airbag sensors are usually located at the front and immediately send a signal to heat the air valve and fill the airbag with nitrogen gas.
When an accident occurs, the driver’s and passengers’ heads will immediately hit the airbag, and the airbag will release the nitrogen gas inside. It is important to note that the gas in the airbag is not a harmful type of gas.
After understanding what a car airbag is, how airbags work, and their functions, make sure to always check for damage in the airbag system to ensure it is in good or damaged condition. If the airbags in your car are damaged, you can repair them by having regular service at an official Daihatsu workshop to ensure the performance of this component.
