Airbags - Protective or Perilous?
By Fei Lim

Due to great strides in automobile technology, airbags have been developed to make cars much safer in the event of a car accident. At first, airbags were only used on the drivers side, but soon passenger air bags became available, and now side airbags are even being used to prevent fatal injuries in side collisions. While airbags do have occasional malfunctions and there can be a few disadvantages, for the most part, airbags are keeping drivers and passengers safer on the road and cutting down the number of vehicle accident fatalities.

History

While most people are unaware of it, airbags have been around longer than most people think. Ford was the first auto company to build cars with airbags. However, theirs were only built for experimental purposes in 1971, so these cars were not sold. It was not until 1973 that a car was available to the public with a built-in airbag, and this car was the Oldsmobile Toronado. Later in the 1970s, both Buick and Oldsmobile began to offer airbags as an option on their cars. The early airbags had a variety of problems and production came to a halt, but in 1988 they came back stronger with Chrysler offering airbags as standard safety measures in all of their vehicles. Finally, in 1998, airbags became a requirement on all vehicles by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Front Airbags

Front airbags include both the front passenger and driver airbags and were meant to protect a persons head and chest in the event they are in a frontal collision. Many people in the past have sustained severe head injuries by hitting their head on the dash or the steering wheel of the car. Chest injuries also occurred in the past by the steering wheel slamming into the chest. The front airbags are designed to inflate in the event of a car crash to make sure that you have cushioning for your head and chest and to restrain you from hitting the dash, steering wheel, or even the windshield.

Side Airbags

Side airbags are much newer than the frontal airbags, and are designed for a very different type of protection. Car manufacturers were beginning to see that while the front airbags are excellent, they could not protect those in the car from a side collision. Many times in side collisions the head of the driver or passenger tends to hit the side window, or even be hit by the other vehicle, and this resulted in bad head trauma, and in many cases death. Side airbags deploy on the sides to protect the head of the passenger or driver in the event of a side collision. While they have definitely improved the safety for adults, one problem that they have is that often they do not provide the protection that children need on the side.

Benefits

There are many benefits to having airbags in your vehicle, and while some of them are safety benefits, not all of them are. First of all, airbags can actually prevent fatalities in car crashes. Many front or side crashes could have been fatal if there were no airbags in the car. Airbags also can help prevent serious injuries such as head trauma and chest injuries. Not only are airbags excellent safety measures that can keep drivers and passengers safe, but they also result in discounted car insurance rates. Cars that have airbags in the front receive safety discounts, and having side airbags can result in an even bigger discount on your auto insurance.

Disadvantages

While there are many great benefits to airbags, there are a few disadvantages and some precautions that should be taken. In rare cases, there have actually been injuries that were associated with airbags. But as a general rule, the safety that they provide outweighs the possibility of a malfunction. Skin abrasion, temporary hearing loss, and other injuries can occur, but most can be prevented if the driver or passenger is wearing their seatbelt and is sitting far enough away from the airbag. It is important to note that small children should never be placed in the front seat if you have an airbag. Doing so could result in your child smothering if the airbag goes off.

While there are a few disadvantages and precautions that come along with airbags, there are many benefits. Airbags have been responsible for saving lives and protecting many people from injury. When used correctly in conjunction with seatbelts, airbags may just save your life if you are in a vehicle accident.