In the exertion to develop safer cars , it might seem as if automobile manufacturers will stuff an airbag anywhere it will correspond . One such late introduction , theside curtain airbag , has proven to be quite worthful and versatile .
For several years , the side curtain airbag has earned higher safety ratings for passenger railroad car and minivan . Recently , though , automakers are finding new way to accommodate side pall technology specifically for niche applications , peculiarly in mellow - risk fomite . Drivers of convertible and SUVs , for example , presently savour the benefits of side drapery protection and rollover - specific security measure . Curtain airbags can also be specially helpful as sub - compacts hail into style . Though morphologic integrity of tiny cars is often question by consumers and regulators , a unexampled microcar will use drape airbags to help protect its passengers ' necks . If drape airbags prove effective for rearward collisions , they could be instrumental in facilitate improve public perception of small and efficient cars .
These creation are quite an accomplishment over canonical airbags , first found in the direction wheel and fascia to absorb the encroachment of a wreck . three-fold front airbags became federally mandate in the United States for the 1998 model class ( seeHow Airbags Workfor an overview ) .
Side mantle airbags are plan to complement traditional airbag system to produce safer vehicle all around . They ’re currently optional in the United States , although the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ( NHTSA ) mandated that all new vehicles must include them to contact more rigorous side impact safety measure by 2013 [ source : Benton ] .
In this clause , we ’ll discuss how side curtain airbags ' protective features make and show you how they are evolving . Up next , read about how and why side curtain airbags have develop .
Development of Side Curtain Airbags
Though traditionalairbagswere a significant development , they were most effective in straightforward collapse . In a front - last collision , for example , theenginecompartment is designed to collapse and absorb most of the impact . A car that is hit in the side , however , has only the room access and a few inches of space to protect the occupier . driver and front seat passenger were left vulnerable to side impacts ; rear passengers were an rethink .
Rather than reinvent the wheel , automakers studied crash trial datum to figure out where additional airbags would be most beneficial . Side hit are most dangerous to a vehicle ’s resident because the crumple zona is so small , so airbags were tot to door and front seats to protect the chest and thorax field of front passengers .
An other gimmick was thehead airbag , orInflatable Tubular Structure , commonly found in many vehicle after 1998 . When the elevator car senses a side encroachment , the thermionic tube come out and inflates , mould a firm 5 inch ( 12 centimeter ) roadblock across the front and rearward window . This tube foreclose occupants ' heads from being smell into hard surface ; however , it offers no protection from wound triggered by limb movement or fly debris .
So , along came the coming of side curtain airbags , which " unroll " in a collision to provide auspices to passengers in a side impact collision . Curtain airbags are most often mounted within the star above the threshold and windowpane . As with traditional airbags , when the sensor detects an impact , some deploy through the material , and others are stash away in a compartment beneath a panel that bollix up out .
Two convertibles introduce a variation on the engineering science , shew the side pall airbag ’s versatility . Porsche and Volvo both claim to be the first maker to incorporate door - rise side curtain airbags [ generator : Mello , Wardlaw ] . The airbags incorporate vertical air chambers ( jolly resembling an breeze mattress ) that have a stiff body structure , reserve them to deploy upward to deal the window area . Because these airbags are not free-base in the cap , they offer protection from side collisions even when the convertible top is down .
Though the engineering is alike to other type of airbags , side curtains offer extra protection that traditional airbags might not , which we ’ll discuss in the next section .
Benefits of Side Curtain Airbags
We ’ve already talked about how side curtainairbagswere first developed to provide head and neck protection to rider in side collision crashes , by extend all the windows and the column trimness . But that ’s not all . Here are a few other ways these airbags can keep you and your passengers dependable :
Since side curtains often cover most , if not all , of the window space , they can provide a roadblock that helps forbid expulsion from the fomite [ beginning : Safercar ] . Even when seatbelts are used right , a crash might force weapon system or legs through the windows and submit them to serious harm . The side curtain ' intimate structure is strong enough to understate the risk of full or partial forcing out . They are also capable to keep out intrusions such as alloy , wiped out glass , and other clangoring debris , cutting down on injuries such as unkept bones , deletion and bruise .
Some curtain airbags are specifically designed to furnish shelter in a rollover crash , a feature film first bump on the Ford Explorer [ origin : Mello ] . Airbags with this benefit feature film sensor to notice if a rollover is imminent by monitoring whether the vehicle is tip . When the pocketbook deploy , they remain inflated longer than their non - rollover counterparts to compensate for the additional time fomite occupants are in danger . Regular airbags deflate immediately after the impact , usually less than a 2nd after they are deployed . Rollover protection curtain , by comparison , remain hyperbolic for several seconds while people are being toss out around inside the vehicle , and are deployed with dusty helium to maintain their volume for an drawn-out period of time . This feature is most often detect on SUVs , which are more prone to rollover incidents because of their higher center ofgravity .
The repute of traditional airbags was put at risk when kid were ache by former organisation . The technology has been refined , and parents are now cautioned to keep modest children by from front and side impact airbags . However , side pall do not amaze these same risks . According to the Insurance Industry for Highway Safety , children may be too small to benefit from the security offer by a drapery - style airbag , but safety expert agree that child are safe in the presence of these airbags [ source : Mello ] . Unlike front and trunk airbags , the curtains ' deployment does not cause a in high spirits - military group intrusion of the occupier ' personal space .
Side curtains are plan to work as a complement to traditional airbags , not as a standalone system . Up next , learn about the unlike type of airbags and how they all work together to keep you safe .
Side Curtain Airbags in Conjunction With Others
As government activity safety standards change and the late technology proves its efficaciousness , it ’s helpful to understand how your cable car ’s safety systems work together . Side drape were developed as a subsidiary organisation to offer aegis where traditionalairbagsfell short , but traditional airbags are still essential . They can go by many names , based on original equipment manufacturer ( OEM ) supplier , authorities regulators and auto industry marketing type , but it ’s important to realise the basic systems and what they do .
Frontal airbags are mount in the steering cycle and dashboard ; side protection systems are mounted in the seat human body or door , which varies concord to provider and automaker . Not all of a cable car ’s airbags will deploy in the issue of a collision ; the airbag system ’s meshwork of sensors will make up one’s mind which airbags are needed [ source : WIPO ] . Here are some of the main type of airbags you might find in your vehicle :
Thedriver airbagis the one mounted in the steering wheel that protects the driver in most clang , include front , rearward and side impact [ source : Autoliv : Driver ] . If the driver is flung forward in a crash , chance are that they will be up close and personal with the machine driver airbag .
Thepassenger airbagis similar to the number one wood airbag and deploys under similar conditions . It is site in the dashboard on most cars [ source : Autoliv : Passenger ] . This airbag is dangerous for lowly children and can leave in harm or even death .
Thethorax bagis approximate to reduce severe chest injury in side wallop collisions by 25 percent , according to one manufacturer [ source : Autoliv : Thorax ] . When deploy , it provides a barrier between the seat occupant and the door .
Thehead thorax bagis like to the chest traveling bag , providing shelter from side shock collisions [ source : Autoliv : Head ] . It is larger , though , to give redundant protection to the headspring also .
Thepelvis pectus baginflates near the hips of the buttocks resident to keep lower body injury during a side impact collision [ source : Autoliv : Pelvis ] . This airbag is pocket-size and deploys very quickly from the seat ’s frame .
Side curtain airbags are becoming increasingly popular with manufacturer and consumers . interpret on to learn about how much they cost and what that may mean for their handiness .
Availability and Cost of Side Curtain Airbags
Thanks to the super competitive nature of the car industry and more and more rigorous federal guard regulations , consumers who are concerned in buying a fomite with side curtainairbagshave a lot of choice .
gondola equipped with side curtain airbags have a lilliputian emblem near the cap or pillar to identify their presence , much like those found on steering wheels , splasher and seats . These emblems may stock the acronyms SRS ( Supplemental Restraint System ) or SIR ( Supplemental Inflatable Restraint ) . Since the NHTSA ’s 2007 decisiveness to increase side encroachment collision standard , these emblems are going to be an more and more unwashed stack . According to airbag manufacturer Autoliv , side pall are available in more than 60 percent of new fomite in North America and Europe , and that number will steady increase until side curtains become habitual to abide by with the 2013 side impact standard [ author : Autoliv : Inflatable Curtain ] .
There are only a few major OEM suppliers of side drapery airbags , so prices are pretty logical and profit gross profit margin for the provider are slim . This continue costs down for car buyers . Side curtain airbags monetary value between $ 50 and $ 100 each to supply to automakers ; variations in price depend mostly upon the size of the vehicle [ source : Automotive News ] . orotund S.U.V. and crossovers with third - run-in seating will have more expensive airbags than a modest sedan would , because larger airbags require more textile and sometimes apply extra deployment modules . NHTSA estimates that when side curtain airbags become stock to match the unexampled side encroachment regulations in 2013 , the airbags will add about $ 33 to the overall cost of the fomite . [ beginning : Benton ] .
Side curtain are somewhat more expensive from OEM suppliers than traditional chest airbags ( which be about $ 50 from each one , on average ) [ source : Automotive News ] . Since carmaker all have unequalled ways of " bunch up " safety features , the cost to consumers can alter . Except for some side encroachment and drapery airbags , most airbag system are n’t generally treated as a source of profit . The benefit to automakers comes in the form of overconfident publicity from good safety ratings .
In the next section , we ’ll show you some literal safety trial with and without side curtain airbags .
Crash Test Results With and Without Side Curtains
vehicle are useable in many unlike configurations to suit a client ’s budget and motive . For example , optionalairbagsmight not be a precedence to a car emptor who seldom carries passengers . If you ’re interested in a certain car , you should read up on itscrash testdata . Side curtain airbag amount alone does n’t tell the whole narration – some vehicles will use one airbag to breed all windows whereas others will use a separate airbag for each windowpane .
We ’re capable to see how side curtain airbags affect guard score by canvass Insurance Institute for Highway Safety ( IIHS ) crash tests direct on railcar with and without side curtain airbags . The IIHS notes that side impact crash test ratings can be equate across vehicle type and system of weights categories , but for simplicity ’s sake , we ’ll focus on comparisons of the same fomite . The evaluation system pursue this musical scale : skillful , Acceptable , Marginal and Poor .
First , we ’ll attend at a 2002 - 2006 Toyota Camry without side pall airbags and a 2004 - 2006 Camry with side curtains . ( The variance in exemplar class range of mountains reflects the addition of the side curtain airbags for 2004 ; though it is described on the IIHS internet site as " side structural changes , " Toyota reported that these change alone would not sham exam results without the airbags . )
The Camry without side curtain airbags was given an overall valuation of Poor . For foreland protective covering , its driver safe rating was Poor and the rear rider rating was Marginal [ beginning : IIHS ] . But the Camry with side mantle was shop in force overall , with Good ratings for both number one wood and rear rider head tribute [ source : IIHS ] .
For machine buyers who ’ve got soccer praxis duty , IIHS also test the 2006 - 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan . Again , side mantle airbags were creditworthy for an increase in number one wood and passenger safe . The minivan without side curtains rated Poor overall , misfortunate for machine driver head protection , and Marginal for rearward rider capitulum protection [ source : IIHS ] . However , the minivan with side mantle earned an satisfactory overall rating , with proficient ratings for equipment driver and rear passenger head protection [ source : IIHS ] .
On the next page , you ’ll obtain lots more information about airbags and other automotive safety features .
