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Are Airbags and Seatbelts Important?

Seat belt and airbags are a part of same function and interrelated, if you don’t fasten seatbelts, the airbags will not deploy ever, and which can be fatal. Here we will see the

1. Functions of airbag and seatbelt,

2. How do they work?

3. Difference both make in fatal accidents

4. Conclusion

Seatbelt: Role and function 

Seatbelt or safety belt, is a vehicle device that is deigned to secure/ restrain a driver or passenger of a vehicle against harmful or sudden movement during an accident or sudden braking. A seatbelt reduces the likelihood of serious injury or even death in case of an accident, by restraining the occupant in the seat and avoiding any impact with interior or exterior objects or ejecting out of the car, due to Interial force in case of a crash or when the vehicle rolls over. Seat belts allow some movement for the upper body but in case of sudden stop or any accident it limits the movement of the occupant with the help of locking retractors mechanism. So sometimes while braking your car you wont be able to move forwards as the belt restricts the movement, its normal. Roles of seat belt 

1. Cause the occupant to decelerate at the same rate as the vehicle in a crash

2. Spread the force of the impact over the stronger parts of the occupant’s body (pelvis and chest area)

3. Prevent the occupant colliding with the interior parts of the vehicle

4. Reduce the risk of being thrown from the vehicle

In modern cars, seatbelts are designed to work together with the airbags. In a crash, the seatbelt slows the speed of the occupant so they impact safely with the airbag.

Airbags: Function & working

An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate extremely quickly, then quickly deflate during a collision. It consists of the airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. The purpose of the airbag is to provide a vehicle occupant with soft cushioning and restraint during a collision. It can reduce injuries between the flailing occupant and the interior of the vehicle. The airbag provides an energy-absorbing surface between the vehicle's occupants and a steering wheel, instrument panel, body pillar, headliner, and windshield. Modern vehicles may contain multiple airbag modules in various configurations, including: driver, passenger, side-curtain, seat-mounted, door-mounted, B and C-pillar mounted side-impact, knee bolster, inflatable seat belt, and pedestrian airbag modules. During a crash, the vehicle's crash sensors provide crucial information to the airbag electronic controller unit (ECU), including collision type, angle, and severity of impact. Using this information, the airbag ECU's crash algorithm determines if the crash event meets the criteria for deployment and triggers various firing circuits to deploy one or more airbag modules within the vehicle. Working as a supplemental restraint system to the vehicle's seat-belt systems, airbag module deployments are triggered through a pyrotechnic process that is designed to be used once. Newer side-impact airbag modules consist of compressed-air cylinders that are triggered in the event of a side-on vehicle impact. The first commercial designs were introduced in passenger automobiles during the 1970s, with limited success, and actually caused some fatalities. Broad commercial adoption of airbags occurred in many markets during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Many modern vehicles now include six or more units.

Do's & Don'ts
1. Always wear seatbelts in a car, even at the rear.

2. Keep minimum 10 inches distance from steering wheel (Centre of the steering and chest).

3. Don’t rest legs on the dashboard.

4. Do not install bull bars in cars.

5. Seating infants in front seat with airbags off.

6. If the airbag/Restrain system malfunction is indicated on clutser, then the airbag system will not work in case of an accident, to have the malfunction checked/resolved Consult us www.zautowelt.com