AUTONEWS

How airbags work in the event of a rollover...

The importance of airbags as safety features in a vehicle during a collision has undoubtedly been proven, but how do they work in the event of a rollover? And if the car rolls over several times, will the airbags still work?

To answer these questions, it is necessary to understand how the equipment was designed and how it acts in cases of accidents. An airbag is a passive safety device that protects vehicle occupants during collisions. Airbags are activated after the vehicle collides with something and are a type of air pockets that serve to cushion the impact of people inside the car.

Airbags are a supplement to a seat belt, reducing the likelihood of an occupant's head and upper body hitting somewhere inside the vehicle. In addition, they also help reduce the risk of serious injury by distributing crash forces more evenly across the occupant's body.

The side and curtain airbags can be activated in the event of a rollover. Rollover sensors detect the vehicle's change in orientation and activate the side airbags and, in some cases, the curtain airbags. This helps protect the occupants head and torso during a rollover.

The front airbags will not activate in the event of side or rear impacts or even rollovers. They are designed to protect occupants in frontal collisions. Understand that the deflagration of the bags depends on where the impact was, the speed and the angle. The minimum speed for activation and a head-on collision with an immovable object is 30 km/h. According to experts, if the speed is below 34 km/h, the airbag will not activate.

The security system is designed to work in specific situations. Therefore, if the bags do not inflate, the ideal is to analyze the accident to understand whether it was really a defect or not.

To make it clearer, see the types of airbags:

-Dual front airbags

-Side airbag

-Curtain airbags

-Knee airbag

-Belt airbag

-Central airbag

-Roof airbag

-Rear airbag

Curtain airbags are inflatable bags that extend from one column of the vehicle to the other, at the height of the windows. They are hidden by the covering of the columns and, when they are activated, they must fill and protect the front and rear sides, in order to reduce the impact and protect passengers.

Airbags are always installed strategically in places close to where they operate. For example, the driver's front airbag is inside the steering wheel and the passenger's airbag is located on the top of the dashboard.

A vehicle equipped with multiple airbags means that it has more than the two front airbags, so if it has side, curtain, knee or other airbags, the vehicle has multiple airbags.

Can multiple airbags go off at the same time?...That's very unlikely. Understand: airbags only fire when there is sudden deceleration in one direction. The frontal and knee ones will only be activated when a frontal impact occurs. The rest remain intact. In the event of a side collision, only the side and curtain airbags on the side where the collision occurs will deploy.

The front, knee and sides of the other end will not be affected. Therefore, for all the airbags to deploy, it would be necessary to hit each side of the car and then hit the front. As is the case of one or several rollovers, which, in theory, would all be triggered if there is a collision in all parts where the airbags are located.

Therefore, the airbags can be deployed in a rollover, but due to stronger deceleration in some direction. It is not the rollover that causes great deceleration in any sense, so the airbags will not be activated if the vehicle does not hit an obstacle. Now, if the car hits a wall or other obstacle, collides while it rolls over, the airbags will open.

Is the seat belt sufficient and does it replace the airbag?...By now, you already know the answer is no! The seat belt does not replace the airbag. The two accessories are complementary and should always be used together.

The seat belt provides a high level of protection. However, depending on the intensity of the collision, the driver or passenger's chest could touch the steering wheel or instrument panel. In these situations, the air bag acts, further minimizing the risk of serious and/or fatal injuries.

Airbags are not designed to deploy in any type of collision. The deployment of the airbag can cause injuries, as the occupant's body becomes loose, coming too close to the bag's expansion area. The distance considered adequate between the chest and the steering wheel or panel containing the airbag is approximately 45 cm.

According to recent data, the chances of survival using a seat belt and airbag activation in a collision are greater than 50%.

Important:

-The airbags take around 30 milliseconds to deploy. The speed at which they open is 400 km/h, or 111 m/s.

-The system that controls the airbags analyzes a series of car parameters, such as deceleration, speed and even the weight of the passengers. In a less serious collision or when there is a smaller, lighter person, the airbag may inflate at a slower speed.

-Front airbags have been mandatory by law since 1997 in Europe.

-Airbags are unlikely to deploy in rear-end collisions. Occupants are not projected forward or to the sides, therefore, they do not require additional seat belt protection.

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