AIR BAGS
Frontal Air Bags
- During moderate to severe frontal crashes, a frontal air bag inflates in a fraction of a second to prevent an occupant from hitting the interior of the vehicle.
- Frontal air bags typically are not designed to offer protection in rollover, side-impact, or rear-end crashes.
- Frontal air bags do not eliminate the need for seat belts, but are a supplement to them.
- Occupants who are unbelted or seated too close to the frontal air bag module when the air bag deploys can be seriously injured or killed.
- Driver and passenger frontal air bags have been required standard equipment in all passenger cars since model year 1998 and in all light trucks (pickups, vans, and SUVs) since model year 1999.
- Second generation frontal air bags, also known as "depowered" air bags, were introduced into passenger cars and light trucks (pickups, vans, and SUVs) during the 1998 model year.
- Third generation frontal air bags, better known as "advanced" frontal air bags, were available in some vehicles by 2003, and have been standard equipment on all light vehicles since model year 2007.
- Many vehicles on the road today are equipped with earlier generation frontal air bag technologies; motorists should check their vehicle owner's manual to find out what type of air bag system their vehicle has and how it operates.
Side-Impact Air Bags (SABs)
- During a side-impact crash, a side-impact air bag (SAB) inflates in a fraction of a second to protect an occupant's head and/or chest from striking objects inside the vehicle.
- There are three main types of side-impact air bags (SABs): Chest (torso), Head (including tubular and curtain varieties), and Head/Chest (combo).
- Some SABs can also protect an occupant from striking objects outside the vehicle in a side-impact crash; however, chest (torso) SABs do not provide this kind of protection.
- Curtain-variety head SABs may help provide protection from ejection in a rollover crash.
- Some new convertibles include head SABs that deploy upwards from the window sill.
- Although not government-required safety devices, SABs are currently offered as standard or optional equipment on many new passenger vehicles.
- Like frontal air bags, side-impact air bags do not take the place of seat belts, but are supplemental restraints.
- Information about a vehicle's SAB system is included in the vehicle owner's manual and is also available by searching the our database by make, model, and year.
Frontal air bags are generally designed to deploy in "moderate to severe" frontal or near-frontal crashes, which are defined as crashes that are equivalent to hitting a solid, fixed barrier at 8 to 14 mph or higher. (This would be equivalent to striking a parked car of similar size at about 16 to 28 mph or higher.)
The model year of your vehicle will tell you in some cases. Since model year 1998, all passenger cars have been required to have frontal air bags for the driver and the right front passenger seating positions. Starting in model year 1999, all light trucks - pickups, vans, and SUVs with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR*) of 8,500 lbs. or less - have been required to have frontal air bags for the driver and the right front passenger. In addition, your vehicle owner's manual should provide information on whether a vehicle has air bags.
For some vehicles equipped with frontal air bags, SRS, SIR or SRS/Air Bag will be embossed on the air bag cover in the center of the steering wheel (for the driver) and on the dashboard (for the right front passenger). Also, you can check your vehicle for air bag warning labels, which are typically located on the vehicle's sun visors.
Side-impact and rollover air bags are not required by the government; however, they are offered as either a standard or optional feature by many vehicle manufacturers. Again, read your owner's manual and look for SRS or Side Air Bag embossed on areas such as the outboard side of the seat back, the door panel, or the overhead roof rail. * The GVWR is the weight of the vehicle itself plus the maximum weight of cargo and passengers that can be safely loaded in the vehicle, as specified by the manufacturer. The label indicating GVWR is usually located on your driver's side door jamb or door.
When NHTSA changed its air bag testing requirements in 1997, many manufacturers reduced the inflation power, or aggressiveness, of first generation air bags to lessen the likelihood of air bag-related injuries and deaths. These less powerful air bags are known as "depowered" air bags and began appearing in vehicles that same year.
Advanced frontal air bag systems are a next-generation air bag system designed to be even more effective than depowered air bags in saving lives - while at the same time reducing the potential of causing an air bag-induced serious injury or death to children and small-stature adults.
