When did airbags come out? The first car to have Airbags

When did airbags come out? Like seatbelts, airbags are a type of automobile safety restraint system designed to mitigate injury in the event of an accident. These gas-inflated cushions, built into the steering wheel, dashboard, door, roof, and/or seat of your car, use a crash sensor to trigger a rapid expansion of nitrogen gas contained inside a cushion that pops out on impact to put a protective barrier between passengers and hard surfaces.

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What is an Airbag?

An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system consisting of an inflatable bag which interferes between the passengers and the car’s dashboard during a collision, preventing passengers from serious injuries.

The mechanism of the airbag works by the chemical reactions and an array of sensors which actuate the process of inflation of an airbag within milliseconds after they sense a collision.

The mechanism of the airbag is designed in such a way that its deployment is governed by the type, angle, and intensity of the collision. Mild frontal collision does not actuate the airbag.

These primitively found their place in a car inside the centre pad of the steering wheel and on the opposite side of the dashboard. Various types of airbags are also embedded in the seats, car’s pillars, seatbelts, lower dash, etc.

The use of airbags in cars has over the years, reduced the number of deaths caused by car accidents tremendously.

When did airbags come out?

At the dawn of the airbag industry, Allen Breed held the patent (U.S. #5,071,161) to the only crash-sensing technology available at the time. Breed had invented a “sensor and safety system” in 1968.

It was the world’s first electromechanical automotive airbag system. However, rudimentary patents for airbag predecessors date back to the 1950s. Patent applications were submitted by German Walter Linderer and American John Hetrick as early as 1951.

Linderer’s airbag (German patent #896312) was based on a compressed air system, either released by bumper contact or by the driver. Hetrick received a patent in 1953 (U.S. #2,649,311) for what he called a “safety cushion assembly for automotive vehicles,” also based on compressed air.

Later research during the 1960s proved that compressed air was not capable of inflating the airbags quickly enough to be effective.

In 1964, Japanese automobile engineer Yasuzaburou Kobori was developing an airbag “safety net” system that employed an explosive device to trigger airbag inflation, for which he was awarded patents in 14 countries. Sadly, Kobori died in 1975 before seeing his ideas put into practical or widespread use.

Airbags are introduced commercially

In 1971, the Ford Motor Company built an experimental airbag fleet. General Motors installed airbags in a fleet of 1973 Chevrolet Impalas—for government use only. The 1973 Oldsmobile Toronado was the first car with a passenger airbag sold to the public. General Motors later offered an option of driver-side airbags in full-sized Oldsmobiles and Buicks in 1975 and 1976, respectively.

Cadillacs became available with driver and passenger airbags options during those years as well. General Motors, which had marketed its airbags as the “Air Cushion Restraint System,” discontinued the ACRS option for the 1977 model year, citing a lack of consumer interest.

Ford and GM subsequently spent years lobbying against airbag requirements, arguing that the devices were simply not viable. Eventually, however, the automobile giants realized that the airbag was here to stay. Ford began offering them again as an option on their 1984 Tempo.

While Chrysler made a driver-side airbag standard for its 1988–1989 models, it wasn’t until the early 1990s that airbags found their way into the majority of American cars. In 1994, TRW began production of the first gas-inflated airbag. Airbags have been mandatory in all new cars since 1998.

Types of Airbags

The two main types of airbags are designed for front impact and side impact. Advanced frontal airbag systems automatically determine if and with what level of power the driver-side frontal airbag and the passenger-side frontal airbag will inflate.

The appropriate level of power is based on the readings of sensor inputs that can typically detect occupant size, seat position, seat belt use of the occupant, and severity of the crash.

Side-impact airbags (SABs) are inflatable devices designed to help protect the head and/or chest in the event of a serious crash involving impact with the side of a vehicle. There are three main types of SABs: chest (or torso) SABs, head SABs, and head/chest combination (or “combo”) SABs.

The first car to have Airbags

With the introduction of airbags in the United States in the middle 1970s, airbags became a favorite alternative to seat belts because it offers almost the same type of protection in a head-on collision without restraint. Ford built some cars with airbags and no seat belts in 1971.

General Motors followed in 1973 with its Chevrolet cars and included airbags in its other brands like Buick, Oldsmobile, and Cadillac. GM referred to its system as the “air cushion restraint system,” and it came with two airbags.

Gradually vehicle designers will move away from airbags as the sole restraint system to a supplemental restraint system, an additional form of occupant safety measure. But in 1987, Porsche 944 Turbo was built with airbags for driver and passenger seats, making it the first car to have multiple airbags as standard equipment. ‘

Following the Porsche 944 Turbo, airbags will become a requirement in cars as safety equipment, with Chrysler and Ford in the forefront introducing the use of airbags across the mid-1980s and making them common use in 1990.

Cars with airbags were first seen in Europe in an Escort MK5 in 1992, and within a short period, all other car companies will adopt airbags across Europe. Before the decade’s end, mass-market cars without airbags as standard equipment will become a scarce find.

Currently, airbags are common finds in any vehicle, even low-budget small-engine cars, with some cars having nine airbags.

Airbags make a comeback

Consumer concerns about safety didn’t go away, however. By the late ’80s, automakers began designing cars with airbags once more. This time, the airbags weren’t optional add-ons. According to Porsche, its 1986 944 Turbo was the first car sold in the U.S. that included standard driver and passenger units.

By 1990, 15% of GM vehicles, 50% of Ford vehicles, and all American-made Chryslers would have standard driver-side airbags. In 1998, a congressional law requiring all new cars to have airbags went into effect, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Airbags – Facts you need to know

Airbags are a type of automobile safety restraint system that use a crash sensor to trigger a rapid expansion of nitrogen gas contained inside a cushion that pops out on impact to put a protective barrier between passengers and hard surfaces.
There are two main types of airbags designed for front impact and side impact, and the appropriate level of power is based on the readings of sensor inputs that can typically detect occupant size, seat position, seat belt use of the occupant, and severity of the crash.
Side-impact airbags (SABs) are inflatable devices designed to help protect the head and/or chest in the event of a serious crash involving impact with the side of a vehicle, and there are three main types of SABs: chest (or torso) SABs, head SABs, and head/chest combination (or “combo”) SABs.
The first electromechanical automotive airbag system was invented by Allen Breed in 1968, and rudimentary patents for airbag predecessors date back to the 1950s.
Linderer’s airbag was based on a compressed air system, either released by bumper contact or by the driver, while Hetrick’s airbag was based on a “safety cushion assembly for automotive vehicles,” also based on compressed air.
Research during the 1960s proved that compressed air was not capable of inflating the airbags quickly enough to be effective.
In 1971, the Ford Motor Company built an experimental airbag fleet, and General Motors installed airbags in a fleet of 1973 Chevrolet Impalas—for government use only.
The first car with a passenger airbag sold to the public was the 1973 Oldsmobile Toronado, and General Motors later offered an option of driver-side airbags in full-sized Oldsmobiles and Buicks in 1975 and 1976, respectively.
Ford and GM spent years lobbying against airbag requirements, arguing that the devices were simply not viable. Eventually, however, the automobile giants realized that the airbag was here to stay, and Ford began offering them again as an option on their 1984 Tempo.
Airbags have been mandatory in all new cars since 1998, and TRW began production of the first gas-inflated airbag in 1994.

FAQs

When did airbags become mandatory?

Beginning Sept. 1, 1998, all cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. were required to have airbags on both sides of the front seat to protect driver and passenger, as required by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991.

Did 1980 cars have airbags?

The first commercial designs were introduced in passenger automobiles during the 1970s, with limited success, and actually caused some fatalities. Broad commercial adoption of airbags occurred in many markets during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Many modern vehicles now include six or more units.

Are 25 year old airbags safe?

Many automakers such as Mercedes-Benz placed airbag replacement labels on all vehicles sold in the U.S. through 2002. Those labels called for airbags to be replaced after 15 years. But after much research, automakers have concluded that airbags produced after 1992 will last the lifetime of the vehicle.

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