The technology has been refined, and parents are now cautioned to keep small children away from front and side impact airbags. However, side curtains do not pose these same risks. According to the Insurance Industry for Highway Safety, children may be too small to benefit from the protection offered by a curtain-style airbag, but safety experts agree that children are safe in the presence of these airbags [source: Mello ].
Unlike front and torso airbags, the curtains' deployment does not cause a high-force intrusion of the occupants' personal space. Side curtains are designed to work as a complement to traditional airbags, not as a standalone system.
Up next, learn about the different types of airbags and how they all work together to keep you safe. Side curtain airbags are manufactured much like traditional airbags are.
The key elements are fabric -- usually coated with a lubricating powder -- the gas inflator, and the sensor module. The major differences between side curtain and traditional airbags are size and structure. Side curtains require more fabric because they are flat, which results in a larger surface area.
They're designed as a series of chambers to increase the ability to resist impact. Separate chambers also allow the vehicle's crash sensors to evaluate the strike's impact and send gas only where it's needed, so that the curtain inflates and deflates more quickly [source: WIPO].
As government safety standards change and the latest technology proves its efficacy, it's helpful to understand how your car's safety systems work together. Side curtains were developed as a supplemental system to offer protection where traditional airbags fell short, but traditional airbags are still essential. They can go by many names, based on original equipment manufacturer OEM suppliers, government regulators and auto industry marketing types, but it's important to understand the basic systems and what they do.
Frontal airbags are mounted in the steering wheel and dashboard; side protection systems are mounted in the seat frame or door, which varies according to supplier and automaker. Not all of a car's airbags will deploy in the event of a collision; the airbag system's network of sensors will determine which airbags are needed [source: WIPO].
Here are some of the main types of airbags you might find in your vehicle:. The driver airbag is the one mounted in the steering wheel that protects the driver in most crashes, including front, rear and side impacts [source: Autoliv: Driver ]. If the driver is flung forward in a crash, chances are that they will be up close and personal with the driver airbag. The passenger airbag is similar to the driver airbag and deploys under similar conditions. It is located in the dashboard on most cars [source: Autoliv: Passenger ].
This airbag is dangerous for small children and can result in injury or even death. The thorax bag is estimated to reduce severe chest injury in side impact collisions by 25 percent, according to one manufacturer [source: Autoliv: Thorax ]. When deployed, it provides a barrier between the seat occupant and the door. The head thorax bag is similar to the thorax bag, providing protection from side impact collisions [source: Autoliv: Head ].
It is larger, though, to give extra protection to the head also. The pelvis thorax bag inflates near the hips of the seat occupant to prevent lower body injury during a side impact collision [source: Autoliv: Pelvis ]. This airbag is small and deploys very quickly from the seat's frame. Side curtain airbags are becoming increasingly popular with manufacturers and consumers. Read on to learn about how much they cost and what that may mean for their availability. The Toyota iQ , a four-seater microcar that went on sale in Europe and Japan in , was the first to introduce rear curtain airbags.
They're similar to side curtains, only they're mounted in the back above the hatch window and deploy downward from the roof lining when the car is hit from behind. The rear crumple zone in the iQ and other such tiny microcars is nearly nonexistent, but Toyota says it expects the new airbags to double the rear head protection of the iQ's backseat occupants [source: Newcomb ]. Thanks to the extremely competitive nature of the auto industry and increasingly strict federal safety regulations, consumers who are interested in buying a vehicle with side curtain airbags have a lot of choices.
Cars equipped with side curtain airbags have a little emblem near the roof or pillar to identify their presence, much like those found on steering wheels, dashboards and seats. Since the NHTSA's decision to increase side impact collision standards, these emblems are going to be an increasingly common sight. According to airbag manufacturer Autoliv, side curtains are available in more than 60 percent of new vehicles in North America and Europe, and that number will steadily increase until side curtains become customary to comply with the side impact standards [source: Autoliv: Inflatable Curtain ].
There are only a few major OEM suppliers of side curtain airbags, so prices are pretty consistent and profit margins for the suppliers are slim.
This keeps costs down for car buyers. Large SUVs and crossovers with third-row seating will have more expensive airbags than a small sedan would, because larger airbags require more materials and sometimes use additional deployment modules. Since automakers all have unique ways of "bundling" safety features, the cost to consumers can vary. Except for some side impact and curtain airbags, most airbag systems aren't generally treated as a source of profit. The benefit to automakers comes in the form of positive publicity from good safety ratings.
In the next section, we'll show you some actual safety tests with and without side curtain airbags. Airbags aren't mandatory in many countries around the world, but the airbag market is still growing worldwide. In addition, they are backed up by safety systems like passive restraints, antilock brakes, and so forth, providing as much protection in a crash as possible while also helping drivers avoid crashes.
These airbags appear to be most helpful for full sized adults, according to crash studies. Children and small adults may be too short to be protected by side curtain airbags. It is also important for new vehicle purchasers to be aware that many cars do not come standard with air bag systems in the second or third rows of seating in a vehicle.
If protection in these areas is desired, it may be necessary to pay extra or to consider a different vehicle. It is also advisable to get information about the safety of the airbag system in a car for very young children; while airbag safety is constantly improving, some precautions may need to be taken to prevent children from becoming injured by the airbags in a crash.
For example, it is generally recommended that children in carseats be seated in the back, facing towards the back of the vehicle, for safety. Many governments publish car safety ratings and the result of crash tests for the benefit of citizens researching new car purchases. If vehicle is equipped with side or curtain airbag, make sure children and other occupants do not lean into the side or curtain airbag Do not use seat covers on seats equipped with side seat airbags unless they are OEM approved See your owner's manual for more information about airbags Golden Rules of Safety: 1.
Always respect the deployment path of any side or side curtain airbag 2. Submit Feedback. Email Address. Higher daily intake of fruit and vegetables was significantly linked with higher mental health scores in secondary school students, according to recent study findings.
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