Detailed Look At The History of Airbags in Modern Car
Cars have revolutionized the human transportation system. The modern car is fuel efficient, fast, loaded with features and are available in various segments. Air bags are a primary safety feature of a modern car. We shall dwell on the history, functions and importance of airbags in modern cars in this article.
What is an airbag?
An airbag is a security means, built-in inside the modern car to restrain the movement of the occupant, during the collision of the car. The airbags inflate in milliseconds of the collision, and ensure that the occupants do not hit the dashboard or other hard surfaces of the car, thereby ensuring that the occupants are safe from any major injury. Generally, the operation of the airbag includes a complex system of sensor operations and chemical reaction for airbag inflation, taking only a few milliseconds to operate. It must be borne in mind that there are many factors governing the deployment of the airbag, such as the kind of airbag, angle of impact and intensity of the collision. Since the airbags are very expensive, thus in cases of minor accidents, the airbags do not get activated. In any car, these air bags can be found in different places. Generally, for the driver there is one on the steering wheel, and one on the dashboard of the front passenger. Airbags are also placed for the safety of the other passengers in places such as the pillars of the car.
History of safety airbags
The airbag was invented in the 1950s when an industrial engineer, John Hetric, with a Naval background was involved in a car accident. Despite the fact that he and his family were not significantly hurt in the accident, Hetric realised it was necessary to create a modern device for passenger safety. He conceived the idea of an inflatable bag that is connected to compressed air tanks. This inflatable air bag was incorporated on either side of the steel. In case of collision, there was a spring used as an actuator and the compressed air would inflate the bag, providing safety to the passenger. In 1952, Hetrick filed a US patent application for his airbag concept that was issued in 1953.
Another version of airbag
At the same time, Walter Linderer, an engineer, designed another version of airbag which were actuated by the driver himself or the collision on the bumper. He received a German patent for it in November 1953. However, quick inflation of the airbags as a major issue with both the designs and the role of the airbags invented by Hetrick and Linderer was limited to books and could not find wide scale uptake. However, the invention of these airbags made the automobile manufacturers aware about the need for vehicular safety.
Realization of the need for an airbag
Automakers concluded, post realization of the need for an airbag that an accurate collision sensor and a rapid inflation method, were essential for the airbags to function properly. Allen K. Breed, an American engineer, produced an airbag that fulfilled the said requirement. His concept was called as “ball –in-tube”. In this, sodium azide explosion was used to instantly inflate the airbag. This technology is regarded as the start of the airbag business because automakers agreed upon this mass producible airbag design. The widespread use of airbags, on the other hand, did not begin until the 1990s.
Airbags became cutting edge products
During the 1960s and 1970s, Americans lost more people to car accidents each year than they did during the war. Back then, the number of people killed in car accidents was 1000 every week. Airbags were cutting edge products that offered more safety to passengers. The view of automakers, consumers, and overall market trends, however, have hampered the broad implementation of safety systems in cars. When it comes to the automobile industry, the 1960s and 1970s were a time when manufacturers were mainly concerned with producing fast and attractive cars that appealed to a younger demographic. Despite witnessing such horrific deaths, safety was not a topic of discussion.
The installation of airbag systems
In 1965, a young lawyer called Ralph Nader circulated a book called "Unsafe at Any Speed," in which he singled out all of Detroit's major automakers for producing dangerous vehicles and neglecting available technology to make them safer. The claims and court trials against the automakers also detailed how a rise in the price of their cars prejudiced the "anti-airbag" rhetoric of the automakers. They claimed that by forcing the installation of airbag systems, which would cut sales and tarnish their image as dangerous vehicles. Nader's crusade against the automobile behemoths drew national attention and garnered political support. As a result, the United States government passed laws in 1966 mandating the use of seatbelts in automobiles, which had previously been optional. Automakers began to regard airbags as a viable substitute to seatbelts and during a collision, airbags immediately insured the passengers' safety. This corresponded with automakers' continued opposition to airbag installation. They began to outline the disadvantages of employing airbags in automobiles, even claiming that they were deadly to passengers. This assertion was supported by incidents in which cars equipped with airbags instead of seatbelts were involved in an accident and the occupants inside were killed.
Safety features got added
Various governments deliberated on this airbag matter throughout this time, but no definitive inference was arrived at. The authorities and automakers were taken off guard by Nader's persistence and public indignation. The required use of seatbelts and airbags in passenger automobiles was re-established in 1983 by the American administration. After a multi-decade fight spearheaded by Ralph Nader, practically all cars sold in the United States after the late 1980s and early 1990s were equipped with airbags on the driver and passenger-side. Soon, side airbags, seatbelt airbags, and other safety features were added.
Challenges face by India
India too faced major challenges in convincing the automakers to implement airbags in Indian cars. India is a large market for every automaker, and Indian markets are driven by price sensitivity. Automakers continued arguing that an implementation of airbags in the cars would increase the price of the vehicles, pushing its cost beyond the reach of any common man. Indian cars were equipped with bare minimum safety features and allowed to be sold. Manufacturers like Toyota, Volkswagen, and Ford decided to prioritize the safety of their customers and compulsorily introduced air bags into their cars, despite the added cost. The safety pitch of these car manufacturers resonated with the Indian public, and soon other car makers were pushed to incorporate this feature.
The compulsory of air bags for safety
With the implementation of the road safety rules in the year 2019, it became compulsory for every automaker to provide essential safety equipment in all their cars. These safety features were sensors for reverse parking, safety reminders for drivers and front passengers to wear seat belts, ABS feature for all the wheels, airbags in the front and speed limitation reminders. With this, Indian cars have become safer and the vehicle occupant safety has been prioritized. Due to the implementation of these strict norms, air bag manufacturers benefited. Airbags can be categorised as either front air bags, side airbags or knee air bags. The purpose of the airbags remains the same, that is to provide safety to occupants. There is also another form of airbag called dunnage airbags. However, they do not find usage in modern cars. Dunnage airbags are used to secure cargo and are air filled bags used to prevent the cargo in containers from moving around.
There are many air bag manufacturers in the world. Few companies worthy to be mentioned here are Minda, Autoliv, Takata, Bosch and others. The air bags are pricey, and in the market, replacement of any airbag will burn a big hole in the pocket. Market estimates that the airbag price on the driver side ranges from 10000 to 16000 rupees while that of the passenger side airbag varies from 30000 to 55000 rupees.
Conclusion: Airbags have become a necessary feature for every car. Incorporation of air bags ensures that the company values the safety of the passenger. Air bags were often misunderstood to be alternatives to seatbelts, but with time, air bags have proven their worth in reducing fatalities in road accidents.
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FAQ: Air bags manufacturers
Q. I am a very safe driver. Why should I invest in a car with air bags?
Ans. You might be the safest driver on the planet, but the same cannot be said for the driver who might be under influence or inexperienced. A human life is far more valuable than trying to save little money by avoiding air bags.
Q. I met with an accident, and the air bags in the car did not function. Why?
Ans. Normally, if the accident is minor, or the collision is in the front middle section only, then the airbags will not inflate.
Q. Is there an opportunity to start an air bag manufacturing business in India?
Ans. Unless you have the necessary skill sets and connections with automakers, it would be difficult to have a successful business manufacturing air bags. It is a very capital intensive segment.
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