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Side Impact Airbags

During the past century, automobile accidents have killed and injured several million people. In the United States, motor-vehicle accidents are the number one cause of death for persons between the ages of 1 and 35 years. Such statistics have made safety a primary consideration among car buyers. Moreover, they have also led to the development of various vehicular safety devices. Seat belts and shoulder harnesses protect vehicle occupants during the course of an accident. However, because a large proportion of drivers and passengers do not wear seat belts, automobile manufacturers have designed passive-restraint safety systems. These devices automatically protect vehicle occupants. One such passive-restraint system consists of the airbag. Upon impact, airbags inflate immediately to absorb riders' energy. According to the United States' Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208, all passenger cars and light trucks must eventually have airbags for both outboard front-seat occupants. Such systems, however, do little to protect riders from side-impact accidents. While side-impact crashes may only involve a quarter of the energy of two cars hitting head-on, the relatively thin skin of the auto body--as compared to the bumper--may result in more severe consequences. Indeed, side impacts kill over 8,000 and seriously injure approximately 24,000 Americans each year. Such devastating effects might be prevented by side-impact airbags. While such airbags are still in the developmental stage, they should become widely available by the year 2000.

According to the United States' National Safety Council, 3 million Americans have been killed and more than 200 million have been injured in automobile accidents. In fact, over the last 3 decades, more Americans died in traffic accidents than were killed in all of the nation's wars, ranging from "the Revolution to the Gulf" (Crate, 1993, p. 154). Consequently, motor vehicle safe...

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Side Impact Airbags. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 07:50, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1689440.html