How Does an Airbag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal collisions, even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel or the instrument panel. In moderate to severe side collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside of the vehicle.
Airbags supplement the protection provided by safety belts. Frontal airbags distribute the force of the impact more evenly over the occupant's upper body, stopping the occupant more gradually.
Seat-mounted side impact and roof-rail airbags distribute the force of the impact more evenly over the occupant's upper body.
But airbags would not help in many types of collisions, primarily because the occupant's motion is not toward those airbags. See When Should an Airbag Inflate? for more information.
Airbags should never be regarded as anything more than a supplement to safety belts.
See also:
Exit Lighting
The headlamps, taillamps, parking
lamps, back-up lamps, and license
plate lamps come on at night, or in
areas with limited lighting, when the
key is removed from the ignition.
The dome lamps ...
Average Vehicle Speed
This display shows the average
speed of the vehicle in miles per
hour (mph) or kilometers per
hour (km/h). This average is
calculated based on the various
vehicle speeds recorded since the
...
Sensing System for Passenger Airbag
The passenger sensing system turns off the right front passenger frontal airbag and the seat-mounted side impact airbag under certain conditions. The driver airbags and roof-rail airbags are not aff ...