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One of the most crucial parts of the car's safety system are the airbags. An airbag can mean the difference between survival and serious injury or death in a crash situation. The airbag system 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 is located in the hub of the steering wheel, to protect the driver in a frontal and rollover crash.

The airbag reacts upon impact 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 by cushioning the impact of head or upper body with the interior of the car. The airbag will then deflate afterwards. The airbag 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 your car's airbag system is fully functional and in good working order as the airbag must be able to respond accurately and do its job properly. The driver need to be seated in the driving position and wearing a seatbelt for the airbag to work properly upon impact and to avoid receiving injury from  airbag  inflation.


If there is damage or a fault with the airbag 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 inflates you will need to replace it with a new airbag as airbags cannot be reused.