The airbag system is an important part of the car safety system. The airbag system can mean the difference between survival and serious injury or death in a crash situation.  This is a clever and complex piece of kit which is made up of various components, one of the most important being the airbag itself.

Airbags are made out of stretchy material and are housed, usually in airbag covers, compressed tightly beneath this casing. The airbag seat is located in the seat, to protect the person in a crash, particularly in a side collision, by inflating between the person and the door, avoiding damage to the person's torso and shoulders. 

The airbag seat reacts when there is a crash by filling with air at exceptional speed, creating a pillow which bursts out of the airbag cover or panel it is secured behind and into the car, protecting the driver sitting inside the car by cushioning the impact of the shoulder and torso with the interior of the car. The airbag will then deflate afterwards. The airbag seat needs to spring into action practically as soon as the crash happens. According to studies, an airbag will activate within 55 milliseconds of impact.  You can see why it is imperative that the airbag system is functioning properly and fully, and that an important component such as the airbag seat is in sound working order for it to be able to respond accurately. The person needs to be seated properly and wearing a seatbelt for the airbag seat to work correctly in a crash and to avoid receiving an injury from the airbag upon inflation.

If there is damage to or a fault with the airbag seat the airbag system warning light will illuminate on the dashboard indicating that there is a problem. Once the airbag system warning light illuminates, the system becomes inactive which means if you have a crash the airbags will not work so it is important to address the problem as soon as possible. If the airbag seat inflates you will need to replace it with a new airbag seat as airbags cannot be reused.