It’s the best thing since seatbelts. Since the sixties, when the revolution of safety features on cars began, things have been improving constantly, with upgrades like steering columns, stronger bumpers, safety belts and, finally, airbags. Ever since 1998, the federal government had mandated that all cars made since that period must have driver and front passenger airbags. A year later, they made the rules the same for trucks. Some cars, like Mercedes-Benz, were ahead of the game and had had air bag safety features since 1986.
What is a car air bag? It’s kind of like a pillow that’s blown up by gas, like a balloon, and it shoots out quickly from a space under the steering column, dashboard, roof rail, door, or seat. Its purpose is to blow up and protect the driver and people who are riding in the car if they have seatbelts (it won’t help you much if you don’t).
What’s so great about car air bag safety? It saves lives. Frontal air bags alone kept almost fourteen thousand people on the earth between 1987 and 2003, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. If you’re both wearing your seatbelt and you have an airbag, you have a chance less by 87% of getting injured in the head when you get in a car accident. That’s a big number.
In recent years, more car air bags than those required by law have been added for extra safety. Side-impact airbags came out in the 90s and protect more than just your head, going for the chest and pelvic regions to add that extra bit of protection. These are especially useful in cars that are more likely to rollover and are a good aid to passengers, who often have the short end of the safety stick.
Car air bags are fantastic. Hey, they saved this guy.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.