The historical development of the airbag in the car

The evolution of airbags began somewhere in the 50s of the last century, and it continues to this day. How have airbags developed throughout history, and how are they expected to increase travel safety in the future as well?

Today, millions of cars drive on Israel's roads, the vast majority of which are equipped with airbags. But what seems obvious today, did not exist several decades ago. In fact, the car and its accessories have changed beyond recognition since the invention of the car, somewhere in 1901: there used to be no seat belts, electronic signals and even windshields in the car, not to mention safety accessories such as airbags.

And today? Modern vehicles are equipped with a variety of advanced safety systems, one of the most important of which is the airbag, which is designed to protect the vehicle's passengers and minimize injury in the event of an accident. in fact, A study by the US Federal Highway Safety Administration (The NHTSA) found that the use of airbags reduces by about 30% the deaths during an accident. How has the airbag developed since its invention until today - and how is it expected to increase driving safety?

The 50s: the trick that started it all

Maybe it will surprise some of you, but the airbags appeared in the world already in 1953, at least at the conceptual level. In this year a patent was registered in the name of the American industrial engineer John Hetrick, who served in the US Navy. It all started when, after retiring, the trick was driving a car with his wife and daughter in it and was involved in a car accident. Although the family members were not significantly injured during the accident, the trick realized the necessity of a device that would keep passengers safe in the event of a collision. This is where his experience as an industrial engineer in the US Navy comes into play: inspired by compressed air systems in torpedo missiles, the air cushions he created were connected to a compressed air tank. The system he built was based on a spring, when hit or when activated by the driver would release the compressed air and lead to the inflation of the airbags.

Only three months after the patent was submitted by the trick, the German engineer Walter Linder submitted his own patent for airbags, which were also powered by compressed air. In this case too, the airbags were activated during a collision or by the driver.

Although the idea was important and revolutionary, at this stage it was still immature: experts warned that the compressed air could not inflate the airbags fast enough to protect the passengers in the event of an accident.

Because of this and due to the low awareness of car safety during this period, the inventions of Hetrick and Linderer were not adopted by the car industry. Despite this, both will always be recorded in the pages of history as the pioneers of the airbag concept, which continued to evolve over the years.

The 60s: the great breakthrough

After trial, error and learning of the airbags invented by Hetrick and Linderer, the car manufacturers realized what actions needed to be taken in order for these systems to work effectively: equip them with a precise collision sensor and also with a chemical catalyst, which would speed up the inflation process. The focus on the required improvements led to the two long-awaited breakthroughs. The first breakthrough came in 1964, when the automotive engineer Yasuzuro Kobori made use of a chemical micro-explosion that allowed the airbags to be inflated more quickly than the compressed air they had previously used. This invention was registered as a patent in 14 different countries. The second breakthrough was in the sensing system: collision detection in the first airbags was in many cases unreliable. In 1967, the American Alan Breed developed an electromagnetic sensor located in the front part of the vehicle. Upon impact, the sensor sent an electronic signal that turned the bound sodium in the tank into nitrogen, which filled the air bags within 30 hundredths of a second. Shortening the time period for inflating the airbags has made them an effective safety measure during an accident.

These breakthroughs laid the technological infrastructure for the use of airbags.

70s: Air bags enter cars

In the early 70s, General Motors was the first car manufacturer to introduce airbags into its vehicles - to the Chevrolet Impala fleet purchased by the US government. General Motors was also the first to bring airbags to the automotive market as an optional safety accessory, as part of the Oldsmobile Toronado vehicles. This option was later shelved, following a claim of lack of consumer interest. Happily, that was just the opening shot.

80s and 90s: Legislation enters the picture

During the 60s and 70s, the number of traffic accidents in the United States skyrocketed and claimed many victims, with approximately 1,000 deaths each week. Following the desire to increase driving safety, in the 80s legislation came into force in the USA requiring the installation of seat belts or airbags in vehicles. In 1988 both airbags and seat belts became mandatory accessories in all new cars. Leading manufacturers such as Mercedes, Honda, Porsche and others soon joined the safety revolution - incorporating airbags in their flagship models. And so from the beginning of the 90s, airbags were installed in almost all new vehicles sold, in the United States and abroad. Everything else is history, and today, as mentioned, the airbags help to reduce the number of deaths and reduce the severity of the injury during an accident.

Air time: The world of airbags never stops developing

Over the years, the evolution of airbags continued to develop, with an airbag for the driver, a front airbag for the passenger and various types of additional airbags. For example, side cushions are designed to protect the upper body in the event of a side impact; Curtain cushions installed along the ceiling lining are designed to protect the passengers' heads in the event of an impact. Knee pads are designed to protect the sensitive knee joints. A few years ago, even an inflatable seat belt was launched whose function is to spread the impact over a wider surface area, in a way that should prevent the impact from concentrating in one area and thus reduce its intensity.

The development of the world of airbags continues to have a decisive impact on the field of vehicle safety. for example A study that tested the effectiveness of side pillows that provide head protection, found that they help reduce the driver's risk of death in side collisions by 37% (and 52% in SUVs).

In recent years, external airbags have also been developed, which open outwards and help reduce the intensity of the impact on pedestrians. Other developments focus on huge airbags: for example, the Hyundai Group unveiled several years ago giant airbags divided into several "compartments", each designed to protect a different area of ​​the body and envelop it during a collision: the upper compartment provides head and chest protection, the central compartment provides rear protection and the lower compartment Provides protection to the lower body.

And what about an economic airbag?

As we understood, the continuous evolution of airbags helps to save human lives during an accident, in ever-increasing rates. But what about protection against the economic "accident"? In the event of an accident, the damage to your vehicle and the vehicles around you may reach tens or even hundreds of thousands of shekels. In such a case, car insurance that amounts to compulsory insurance only covers bodily injury, and therefore will not be able to help.

Therefore, it is important to make sure that you are equipped with a financial airbag: comprehensive car insurance, designed to cover the damages to the car in the event of an accident. Comprehensive car insurance also includes third party coverage, which should cover you in case of damage to a third party's car or property as a result of using your car. It is important to know: the damages to a third party may increase, for example in the event that you damaged a vehicle of high value (such as a luxury vehicle) or during a chain accident that caused damage to several vehicles. To make sure that you are also covered in cases of this type, where the financial damage may be significant, it is important to check what the coverage ceiling is. For example, Phoenix's comprehensive car insurance includes increased third-party insurance, up to NIS 2,000,000.

And the conclusion? When it comes to car insurance, important Make sure you have comprehensive car insurance that will serve as a financial airbag and give you a safety net at the moment of truth.

Airbag technology continues to evolve, making the driving experience safer. In combination with an economic airbag - comprehensive car insurance, you can drive with peace of mind.

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