Hyundai India’s Chief Operating Officer, Tarun Garg was beaming as the carmaker announced six airbags as standard fitment across their fleet. “This reaffirms our commitment to safety,” he told me. But why all the ballyhoo about airbags anyway? They’re supposed to save lives, right? All carmakers must make them standard.
If I were to buy a car, I would insist that it comes with multiple airbags. But let’s get one thing clear, airbags aren’t soft, fluffy cushions of air that caress you.
Explosion of hot air
I have had two major car accidents in my life nearly two decades ago while driving. On both occasions, the airbags didn’t deploy.
I drove over a divider while trying to avoid a cyclist. The car toppled and ended up on the other side. It must have taken a few seconds at most, but I can still remember little shards of glass flying around me in slow motion. It was like Rihanna’s song, ‘Diamonds in the sky’.
No matter how slow passengers and drivers feel the impact of an accident, the airbags have to work within milliseconds. An explosion makes them pop out.
Accelerometers in cars with more than two front airbags can quickly sense dramatic changes in G-forces. They send an electrical signal to trigger an explosive. If you have ever seen a real frontal-impact crash test, your eye cannot process just how fast it happens. That’s why most crash-test videos by various New Car Assessment Programs (NCAP) are shared in slow-motion, as slow as 10,000 frames per second.
If you find yourself in a collision, say a frontal one, there is a literal explosion taking place in front of your head. Your head rapidly moves toward the center of the steering wheel because you have come to a sudden stop (think about energy and momentum). You are only saved by the three-point seatbelt. Then, you are hit by a burst of hot air in your face, which is the airbag deploying. If you’re lucky, a seat airbag and a curtain one might also pop out. The latter can not only protect you from a side impact but also shield you from shattered glass, which is almost certain to happen in a car collision.
Here are some things to remember about airbag deployment. In the accident I was in, my second-generation Honda CR-V only had two front airbags (it was 2006 and airbags were only in luxury vehicles). But they didn’t deploy because the primary impact was on the side of the car. A lot of people I spoke to after that incident were puzzled that the airbags didn’t go off.
Similarly, in Uttar Pradesh, a man filed a case against Mahindra & Mahindra chairman Anand Mahindra because his son’s 2020 Scorpio didn’t deploy airbags. The dealership and the police cited a side impact. The front airbags only activate in certain situations where the impact occurs at a narrow angle in the front. So, it’s possible that a car accident occurs between vehicles fitted with multiple airbags but none deploy.
The UP case brings another interesting facet to light—the belief that airbags will save you, no matter what. They won’t. When an airbag goes off, often the passengers and especially the driver may get facial burns. After all, it is an explosion. However, a few burn marks are much better than your skull smashed on the steering wheel. And that depends on whether you have your seat belt on.
Also read: Mercedes-Benz EQE 500 proves the luxury-EV combo is only getting stronger
Not failsafe
An airbag is a Supplementary Restraint System (SRS) or Secondary Restraint System. It is not a failsafe system; instead, it makes the primary restraint system, which is the seatbelt, work better. If you’re not belted in and your head hits an airbag in a high-speed vehicle, it is like getting a very powerful uppercut from someone like Mike Tyson. If you are unlucky, an airbag without the safety of a seatbelt could kill you.
When I see parents drive with young children in the front seats of modern cars, it terrifies me because airbags can deploy in a low-speed collision above 20 kilometres per hour. While an adult’s neck can take the hit, a child’s might not. That is why in many countries with stricter road regulations, children below four feet in height and a certain weight are not allowed to sit in the front seat unless the airbag has been disabled.
By the way, all these cars with six airbags we are talking about—you better be belted in the back as well because a curtain airbag deployment can also cause injuries.
Having more safety features is great, and Hyundai India’s move to standardise six airbags is commendable. But, always remember that airbags save your life, but they won’t do diddly-squat if you are not wearing a seatbelt or if you are driving at very high speeds.
@kushanmitra is an automotive journalist based in New Delhi. Views are personal.