Air Bags: Going Beyond Safety

Air bags have come a long way. In older vehicles, air bags were located in the dashboard of a car or truck, where they would then deploy upon impact. The problem is, many times air bags would either fail to deploy, or do so as a result of minor collisions with little damage to the vehicle. However, newer vehicles have a range of air bags, and each serves a specific safety function that can, and maybe someday will, save your life. 

Side Air Bags and Head Level Air Bags

The newest types of air bags are side air bags. These are built in to the structure of the door, just behind the passenger seat. In the case of a side collision, these air bags will deploy on the side of the impact. Whereas in earlier vehicles, getting sideswiped left you unprotected by an air bag, usually resulting in the front air bad deploying and causing further harm, the new air bags are made to cushion the impact of a side impact. These are great safety features that can potentially save your life should you ever be hit by a driver who is blowing through a red light. Head level air bags are also newer. Older air bags deployed at an upward arc, almost upper cutting the passenger or driver. New air bags deploy at head level, keeping the neck from being subject to whiplash, or other forms of damage commonly associated with frontal impacts. With enough pressure to knock you back, these air bags can also keep you from hitting your face on the dashboard—an issue that older air bags sometimes would actually cause. 

The Dangers of Air Bags

Air bags, as discussed above, have come a long way. However newer airbags can potentially cause a hazard to younger children, more so than older air bags. As good as your brake pads are, and as quick as your reflexes are, they cannot make up for the fact that children are more frail, and much smaller, than adults. This is why it is important to ensure that your children ride in the back seat until the proper age. Head level air bags especially can be a danger to children in an impact because they are usually completely too high to help. Some newer model vehicles have backseat air bags, but not all do, so it is dire that you practice seatbelt safety with your children when they go for a ride in your vehicle. 

Air Bag Replacements

If you have been in a collision, part of your car repair bill can and will include air bag replacement. Once deployed, an air bag is essentially useless. This is because they are full of air, and use this to pressurize their trajectory when an impact occurs. Once used, air bags in most cars are unable to be refilled. They must be fully replaced, which involves work done on the inside of your vehicle. But it is important that you do get them replaced. In the case of a future impact, whether your fault or not, an air bag may very well save your life.