How airbags work

When you’re seated in the front of a car, you’ll notice the sign of an airbag sign in front of you. The passenger airbag is placed in the dashboard and the driver’s airbag is in the steering wheel.

Airbags can also be located in the front doors on both sides of the vehicle. Some car manufacturers have knee airbags which are situated lower down. Airbags are placed in these areas as it is these spaces that will help provide the maximum protection to your body.

Airbags are designed to help seatbelts protect people in a vehicle if they are involved in a car crash. They are controlled by extremely accurate sensors that measure the impact, pressure and acceleration that your vehicle faces.

An airbag will only be deployed if the sensors detect that the situation will leave a passenger injured.

In this event, the airbag is activated by an explosive charge inside a chamber within it. The charge fills the airbag with gasses created by the explosion, expanding in milliseconds.

The inflated bag protects the passenger from a hard impact. The bag will also deflate quickly to mitigate the further danger.

An airbag is also known as a supplementary restraint system (SRS) or supplementary inflatable restraint (SIR). It essentially aids the seatbelt in helping to keep you protected, it does not replace the function of the seatbelt. This is why driving without a seatbelt is stupid and dangerous.

Picture: Women on Wheels Gallery