Explosive power of airbag shows why everyone must wear a seatbelt [Video]

Car airbags are life saver and in recent times, the Indian government has made it mandatory for all the vehicles to offer at least the driver airbag as standard across the variants. In the future, the front airbags will become mandatory too. But airbags are actually an explosive device that can be extremely dangerous, if not used properly. Here is a video that shows how an airbag actually opens and how damaging it can be if you’re near it when it is opens.

The video by Mr Indian Hacker shows how quickly can an airbag inflate to save you from the impact. In order to show the instantaneous nature of the airbag, they have removed the airbag module from the steering wheel of Maruti Suzuki car. They connect it to wires to trigger the airbag to open.

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The video shows that as soon as he connects both the wire and completes the circuit, the airbag inflates in microseconds. The explosion that happens is quite powerful and the airbag module displaces from its spot. The plastic casing also blows into pieces because of the explosion. Now imagine if someone’s face or legs are near the airbag, the damage done through this would be immense.

How do airbags work?

Airbag system works because of a chemical reaction. To save the occupants from impact with the hard parts of the vehicle and the dashboard, the airbag module works because of a chemical reaction that happens after the airbag is triggered by the sensors. After an accident happens, the sensors send information to the module that then do calculations within microseconds and triggers the airbags.

The explosion happens when the chemicals mix and generate gases at a fast rate that fills up the airbag and creates a cushion of the occupants. It is a harmless gas like nitrogen that rapidly fills the airbags.

How can airbags become dangerous?

There are numerous incidents in the past that show how dangerous the airbags can become, if not used properly. Keeping the legs on the dashboard and not wearing seat-belts can be one way of exposing yourself to the explosion. If you are too close to the airbag system when it blows, it can hurt you badly. The explosion is so intense that it can also throw heavy objects up flying in the air.

An incident that happened a few years ago shows the magnitude of airbags and can extreme they can become. A lady was casually sitting in the car with her feet on the dashboard. The car airbags went off after an accident and the lady lost both her legs due to the intensity of the airbags. There are many cars that do not open the airbags when the occupant is not wearing the seatbelt. If a person is not wearing the seatbelt, the face will be extremely close to the airbag after an accident and if the airbag opens, it can blow if your face. That is why, for safety reasons, a few car manufacturers deactivate the airbag system when the seat-belt is not fastened.

If you own a car with airbags, you should give special attention to it and ensure that you always follow the safety protocols. Also, seat-belts are really important in any car with or without a airbag.

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