Do airbags make a vehicle safer?
Airbags have substantially increased the safety of modern automobiles, but 13 years ago only Mercedes-Benz offered them as standard equipment on every model. Volvo, Saab, BMW, and Audi soon followed Mercedes’ lead but American and Japanese manufacturers took quite a long time (1998) to introduce them as standard equipment on every US model automobile (1999 for SUVs, trucks, and vans). Front airbags deploy instantly in a full-width frontal or frontal offset crash at speeds as slow as 10 mph in order to prevent front-seat occupants from hitting the dashboard, steering wheel, or windshield. They are not designed to secure occupants in rear-end, roll-over, or side-impact collisions. Again the European manufacturers have taken the lead in safety and offer side impact airbags in most models sold in the US. Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo now include a third type of airbag just for your head.
