Front air bags have been standard on all new cars since 1998 and
light trucks since 1999. Most vehicles had them even before then. Crash
sensors connected to an onboard computer detect a frontal collision and
trigger the bags. The bags inflate in a few milliseconds—the blink of an
eye—then immediately start deflating.
While air bags have
saved thousands of lives, they also have the potential to cause injury
or even death to children or to occupants who aren’t using a seatbelt.
Children under 12 should be seated in the rear in an appropriate
restraint system and rear-facing child seats should never be installed
in front seats equipped with air bags.
Adaptive, or dual-stage
front air bags, introduced in 2003, became standard across the board by
the 2007 model year. Most air-bag systems now detect the presence,
weight, and seat position for the driver and front passenger, and
deactivate or de-power front air bags as appropriate to minimize the
chance of injury to drivers positioned close to the wheel,
out-of-position occupants or children.
Side air bags. Torso
protecting side-impact air bags for front-seat passengers are also
nearly universal, and some automakers offer side bags for rear-seat
passengers, as well. Side air bags are fairly small cushions that pop
out of the door trim or the side of the seatback. They help protect the
torso, but most aren’t effective in protecting the head. Nearly all new
models today also include additional “side curtain” bags that deploy
from above the windows and cover both front and rear side windows to
prevent occupants from hitting their heads and to shield them from
flying debris. A curtain bag often also stays ‘inflated’ longer in most
cases to also keep people from being ejected during a rollover or a
high-speed side crash. The better head-protection systems deploy the
side-curtain bags if the system detects that the vehicle is beginning to
roll over. (For more information on crash testing and Ratings, see our Crash test 101 report)
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