An air bag is a fabric bag that is stored within the hub of the steering wheel or in the dashboard on the passenger's side of a vehicle. It is attached to a metal housing that contains the inflator for the air bag. When crash sensors in the front of the vehicle detect a crash, they trigger the inflator, rapidly inflating the air bag. The bag must inflate very quickly, in the blink of an eye, if it is to inflate in time to protect a vehicle occupant from striking the steering wheel, dashboard, or windshield. If it inflates fully before the occupant moves into it, it enables the occupant to stop gradually.
Gradual stops are safer than sudden stops.
Since the air bag also spreads the crash forces over a large area of the body, it is very effective in reducing deaths and injuries in frontal crashes. The requirement for air bags By law, driver and passenger air bags must be installed in 95 percent of passenger cars in model year 1997 and 100 percent in model year 1998. They must be installed in 80 percent of light trucks in model year 1998 and in all light trucks in model year 1999. The manufacturers are already installing them in virtually 100 percent of passenger cars and most light trucks. By November 1996, approximately 53 million passenger cars and light trucks were equipped with air bags.