This Is How Fast An Airbag Deploys - HotCars

The airbag has become a synonymous safety feature of the car, much like ABS brakes have, a big explosive bag of air that is supposed to blow up right in front of our face in the event of an accident.

Starting with just one inside the steering wheel or one mounted on the passenger side of specific cars made in the early 70s, companies like Ford claimed the airbag was apparently not viable for mass production, look at it now; driver side airbags were mandatory from 1998, and now there are vehicles out there with ten dotted all around the cabin protecting all passengers in the vehicle in the devastating event of having an accident, and the technology keeps evolving too!

When shopping for a new car, buyers recognize airbags as a symbol of safety and will take the number of airbags equipped and a vehicle's NCAP (or similar) crash test rating into consideration, but how much do you actually know about how this lifesaving device functions?

How The Airbag Works

Via: Pitstop

The idea of an airbag is simple, if you are in a crash, the vehicle will come to an almost immediate stop, but this mass deceleration does not apply to objects inside the car, though, due to inertia, also known as Newton's first law of motion. Because of this, the body will continue to move at the previous speed of the car until it is slowed down by another object, such as the seat belt or steering wheel. When the body eventually comes to a stop, a similar thing happens internally; our organs take an impact and come to a hard stop, causing potentially fatal damage.

The airbag works by means of sensors mounted throughout the car to determine a deceleration equivalent to crashing into a brick wall at around 10-15mph. When this happens, a signal will be sent to the airbag to detonate a small amount of explosive material. This explosion causes a rapid detonation releasing an inert gas like nitrogen or argon into a thin nylon bag, and this is the part of the airbag we see.

By hitting this softened impact zone, the body comes to a stop significantly slower, greatly reducing the chances of a high-impact internal injury or damage to the head from hitting a hard surface.

Related: A Detailed Look At The History Of Airbags

How Fast Is An Airbag Then?

Via: Wikimedia

Well... considering the properties involved (explosives and a detonation), most would think this is a ridiculously quick process like a gunshot, right? Not quite.

Typical airbag deployment speed ranges from around 100-200mph, and the airbag itself will have a maximum inflation pressure of 5psi, not quite the numbers one would imagine, but there are reasons for this.

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By having a low-pressure airbag, deceleration in a crash is slower still, allowing for more precious time for the body to slow down. 100-200mph is also pretty quick in the scheme of things and is likely to still be faster than the combined impact speed, you would hope anyway!

An airbag cant really deploy any faster than this because it could cause more problems than it would solve, more explosives would need to be used, and the chances of minor injury or burns from airbag deployment would be even greater than they are now.

NEXT: Ford Recalls 3 Million Vehicles For Takata Airbags