Why We Need Airbags In Cars ?

Car accidents are among the major causes of death in Australia. While most of the car crashes are caused by reckless driving, lack of car safety apparatus or its dysfunction can cause grievous injuries too. This is why it is crucial that you have proper safety features installed in your car. Among the car safety apparatus, airbags are considered the most important. Read on to find out how airbags can prove to be the difference between life and death in the event of a car accident.    

Role of Airbags

Airbags are installed cars for the purpose of saving the car occupants from sustaining impact injuries in case an accident occurs. They usually come pre-installed in the steering wheel or dashboard of cars. These airbags deploy immediately if the car hits something at a relatively high speed. Upon deployment, the airbags inflate and create a barrier between the car’s windscreen and interior, and the passengers. The role of these airbags is to slow down the forward motion of the passengers sitting in the car as they are flung forwards. 

The worst injuries in a car accident are impact injuries such as whiplash. These are caused when the passenger’s momentum takes them forward while the seat attached to the car stops moving. This momentum of the passenger is stopped by the car’s interior, causing an impact strong enough to break bones. However, the airbags stop this from happening. First, it stops the passengers from hitting the interior of the car. Then, it also reduces the force of the impact thus, protecting the car occupants from sustaining any serious injuries. 

How They Work

Airbags are composed of three different components. The first one is the sensor while the second and third are the inflation system and the bags themselves. The mechanism of how airbags work is divided into three different steps. Step one is the detection of the crash by a sensor installed in the airbags. This sensor then triggers a reaction inside the airbag inflation system. This reaction is produced by reacting Potassium Nitrate and Sodium Azide together. Nitrogen gas is formed as a product of this reaction which rapidly fills the bag made of nylon fabric.

The sensor installed in the airbags is the most crucial component since it is responsible for triggering the reaction that will inflate the airbags. This sensor determines whether a crash has occurred or not by sensing the sudden drop in car speed after impact. It receives this information via an accelerometer.     

If There Were No Airbags What Would Happen

Without having airbags to cushion the force of the impact, the car occupants can suffer serious head injuries in the event of an accident. Since there will be nothing to stop the car passengers from hitting the car’s interior, they can also injure their ribs too. Moreover, the jerky motion can also cause their necks to snap, resulting in paralysis or even death. In addition to this, the windscreen shards could potentially injure the passengers too if there are no airbags to shield them.  

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Created on Nov 20th 2018 00:20. Viewed 359 times.

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