Airbags are a must safety element in every modern car. In fact, airbags exist way back in the days, by the time of World War II. Back in the days, airbags are created and used for providing safety for the aviators, however, the innovative airbags are not widely used a lot longer after they are invented. In fact, only around the beginning of the 80s airbags are installed and used for car manufacturing.
The concept of airbags is pretty self-explanatory – they are the safety element that protects the driver and the passengers from injuries in case of a road accident. General Motor introduces the first airbag for cars at the beginning of the 70s, however a decade and over later airbags finally, become widely used and installed in cars. Airbags are a passive safety element because they do not require any additional action by the driver or the passengers in the car. Airbags add to the safety function of the safety belt of the car. Airbags and belts together ensure very important protection for everyone in the car in case of a car/rad accident, especially in case of frontal impact or turn of the car. Airbags are very important because they mitigate the force of deceleration in case of a crash.
The classic car airbag features a module that has a pyropatron, a collision sensor, a computer that is connected to a lamp on the car’s dashboard. All of the elements are charged through the accumulator. Even in case of a serious problem with the accumulator or the car systems, most of the airbag modules can work additional 10 minutes with the help of backup power. In order to be sure that your airbag is in a perfect condition and, in case of need, it will do its job, it is recommended to check the airbag system at least once a year for any possible issues. In order to check if everything with your airbag is ok, simply look at the check-lamp that lights up for a short period of time when you start the engine and lights off in case there are no problems with the airbags of the car.
Sensors do not react to every knock with the car. Even a heavy terrain or slight parking disturbances are not going to cause the airbags to get open. The pyropatron of the airbags could be activated once only, which means that it must be changed next time. The pyropatron is located in the module behind the glove compartment of the car or somewhere around the steering wheel. The most recent car models have airbags installed into the roof of the car, while car manufacturers are also working on the idea of placing airbags even on the outer parts of the car for an extra safety guaranteed. Again, the most recent car models are supplied with types of airbags that could open to a certain extent, according to the force of the car crash. Even the passenger’s gauge has an impact on the decision that the airbag computer makes in case of a crash.
The method of opening of the airbag is connected to the way a rocket works. The airbag causes an ignition fuel into the pyropatron that generates an amount of a harmless gas that fills in the airbag with a speed of 400 km/h. Later the gas runs through a really small opening of the airbag and everything happens for just a few seconds!