subject: Anniversary of a life-saving innovation in cars - The Airbag [print this page] Anniversary of a life-saving innovation in cars - The Airbag
Though airbags sound a recent invention, their history goes as far back as 1951. The first patent of the airbag was applied for by the German Walter Linderer and American John Hedrik. Hedrik's patent was granted in 1953. It was not until the late 1980s that airbags became a standard feature when Chrysler began to incorporate them into its models. By the early 1990s most cars were being manufactured with airbags to protect the driver and, within a couple of years, this had been extended to the front passenger seat.
30 years ago, the first series-production car equipped with an airbag left the Mercedes-Benz assembly line after 13 years of development time for the first driver airbag at Mercedes-Benz. According to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the airbag has saved more than 28,000 human lives in the USA to date. Since October 1992 a driver airbag has been standard equipment in all passenger cars bearing the Mercedes star. The NHTSA states that when compared to an occupant not wearing a seat belt in a vehicle with no airbag, the statistical probability of fatal injury with an airbag and seat belt is 61 percent lower.
Modern cars are getting safer with protective systems that are becoming more and more intelligent:
Belt tensioners improve the protective effect of seat belts
Multi-stage airbags respond according to accident severity
The control systems for these onboard safety features now have the processing power of the 'supercomputers' used in space exploration 25 years ago
Despite the large number of lives saved, as well as continuous improvements to these protection systems, sceptics still occasionally pose the question whether the airbag can also be dangerous. Numerous studies have shown the effectiveness of airbag systems since their inception.
Today, there are two types of airbag of airbag in use. The frontal airbag is built into the area in front of the driver and passenger and protects from a frontal crash. Side impact airbags protect the vehicle occupants from a side impact. In 2006, Honda became the first manufacturer to install airbags in motorcycles.
How an airbag works
The basic concept behind the operation of airbags is quite simple. When a vehicle has an impact, it decelerates so fast, the airbag sensors are triggered. This sends power to the heating element in a propellant, causing a chemical reaction that produces a gas, which in turn fills the airbag. A key safety feature is that as soon as the gas expands in the airbag, it begins to cool, causing the bag to deflate as soon as it fully inflates. Obviously, speed is of the essence and an airbag is able to fully inflate in 0.05 of a second following the impact.
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