Overview
In 25 years—from 1987 to 2012—frontal air bags saved 39,976 lives. That’s enough people to fill a major league ballpark.
NHTSA provides information about the safety benefits of frontal and side air bags and the importance of using seat belts—your first line of defense. We also test and provide guidance on the risks of counterfeit and defective air bags, and urge vehicle owners with recalled air bags to immediately get their air bags replaced by a dealer.
Protection
Air bags are supplemental restraints and are designed to work best in combination with seat belts. Both frontal and side-impact air bags are designed to deploy in moderate to severe crashes.
Air bags reduce the chance that an occupant’s upper body or head will strike the vehicle’s interior during a crash. To avoid an air-bag-related injury, always ensure proper seating position. Wearing your seat belt properly helps ensure that you’re properly seated.
Vehicles can be equipped with both front and side air bags (SABs). Frontal air bags have been standard equipment in all passenger cars since model year 1998 and all SUVs, pickups and vans since model year 1999. SABs are being offered as standard or optional equipment on many new passenger vehicles.
AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT
HOW AIR BAGS WORK
When there is a moderate to severe crash, a signal is sent from the air bag system’s electronic control unit to the inflator within the air bag module. An igniter in the inflator starts a chemical reaction that produces a harmless gas, which inflates the air bag within the blink of an eye – or less than 1/20th of a second. Side-impact air bags inflate even more quickly since there is less space between the occupant and the striking object, such as the interior of the vehicle, another vehicle, a tree, or a pole.
Because air bags deploy very rapidly, serious or sometimes fatal injuries can occur if the occupant is too close to – or is in direct contact with – the air bag when it first begins to deploy. Sitting as far back from the steering wheel or dashboard as possible and using seat belts help prevent occupants from being “too close” to a deploying frontal air bag.
To ensure the continued protection of occupants, used air bags should be replaced without delay by an authorized repair center before the vehicle is driven again.
Customer Service Representative
1215 Thomas G. Wilson Drive
Conway, AR 72032
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