what is airbag in car

An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system that is designed to inflate extremely quickly and then quickly deflate during a collision. It consists of an airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. The purpose of the airbag is to provide a vehicle occupant with soft cushioning and restraint during a collision, reducing injuries between the flailing occupant and the interior of the vehicle. Airbags are also known as "supplementary restraint devices" because they are designed to work in conjunction with seat belts, which themselves are the primary restraint devices in a vehicle. Front airbags have been required in all new passenger vehicles since the 1999 model year, and side airbags are included as standard equipment in nearly all vehicles to meet federal side protection requirements. Airbags reduce the chance that an occupants upper body or head will strike the vehicles interior during a crash, and they have saved more than 50,000 lives over a 30-year period.