Nowadays, inflatable airbags are a common feature not only of expensive but also of small cheap automobiles. They are installed for both the drivers and the front and rear passengers.

Front airbags response when the control unit detects an accident. Depending on the construction, the degree of gas filling may vary. The purpose of airbags to protect the driver and the front passenger from injuries by hard objects (the body, engine etc.) and glass debris at front-face collisions.

Side airbags are installed in order to reduce the injuries of the passengers at side collisions. They are installed into the doors or in the backs of the front seats. When a side collisions occurs the detectors send signal to the central airbag control unit.

When inflatable airbags are used the number of deaths of a driver at front-face collisions decreases by 20-25%. In case the airbags responded or were somehow damaged, they cannot be repaired and need replacing.

A driver’s airbag is from 60 to 80 l in capacity, the front passenger’s one – 130 l. It isn’t hard to fancy that when they both response the capacity of the saloon decreases by 200-250 l in 0.04 seconds which is a great stress for eardrums. Moreover, an airbag flying out at over 300 kmph is quite a danger for the passengers if they are not fastened with safety belts and nothing retards the motion of the body towards the airbag. Besides, you can get a serious injury if you drive in the wrong position.

Moreover, you shouldn’t place children’s seats on the seat where an airbag is installed because, when activated, it can shift the seat and injure a child.

Passenger airbags increase the probability of death of a child under 13. Why? If a child is under 150 cm he/she can get a blow on the head by an airbag travelling at over 300 kmph.

There exist a few levels of airbag safety. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has worked out a “star” scale for evaluating the parameter where a number of stars means the percentage of the passenger’s getting serious injury at a front-face collision of automobiles (under “serious injury” comes the need of immediate hospitalization with a threat to life).

***** - 10% or less possibility of a serious injury
**** - 11% - 20% possibility of a serious injury
*** - 21% - 35% possibility of a serious injury
** - 36% - 45% possibility of a serious injury
* - 46% and higher possibility of a serious injury

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