According to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), the state sees an average of nearly 300,000 car crashes, including over 60,000 injury accidents and over 1,000 fatality crashes.
When an airbag deploys, it indicates a significant collision. However, serious car accidents can be less harmful when an airbag is present. Since airbags were introduced over 50 years ago, it is estimated that they’ve saved over 50,000 lives. They have reduced driver fatalities in head-on crashes by 29%. Fatalities for front-seat passengers over the age of 13 have gone down 32%.
Of course, airbags are only useful when they deploy. At what speed do airbags deploy, and are there other conditions that could lead to deployment? Here’s what you should know.
How Airbags Work
Airbags are inflatable cushions built into cars. They are typically situated at the front of the vehicle cabin (in the steering wheel for the driver and the dashboard for the front-seat passenger) and over side windows.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), they’re designed to deploy within 10 to 20 milliseconds of a crash impact to protect the driver and passengers from colliding with the vehicle structure.
Airbags are set off by sensors designed to measure the severity of a crash and signal airbags to inflate when appropriate. Different airbags can deploy at different crash speeds. While many vehicles have a significant crumple zone at the front of the vehicle, airbags could deploy at speeds as low as about 10 to 16 mph when a collision with a hard surface is detected.
The precise speed could depend on factors like the rigidity of the object the car is colliding with and whether vehicle occupants are belted. Because there is less protection on the sides of the vehicle, side airbags may deploy at crash speeds as low as 8 to 18 mph, depending on whether the object struck is narrow (like a telephone pole) or wider (like another vehicle).
Both front and side airbags may deploy in front-end and side collisions, depending on the data received by sensors. Airbags protect the most vital parts of the body — the head and torso — from the harm of colliding with car structures or windows.
Do Airbags Ever Cause Harm Or Fail To Deploy?
Whether you frequently traverse the most dangerous intersections in your area or you rarely get behind the wheel, you want to know that your airbags will work properly when an accident occurs. This technology has undergone substantial improvements over the years.
Today, serious injuries from airbags are rare, according to the IIHS, but in vehicles manufactured before 1998, there was a greater occurrence of injuries caused by frontal airbag inflation, including nearly 300 deaths, per a study from 1990 to 2008.
However, many of those fatalities were related to unbelted or improperly restrained occupants or infants placed in rear-facing car seats in the front passenger seat. When requirements for energy to power airbags were reduced in 1998 and advanced airbags were introduced in 2007, serious injuries and deaths from airbags decreased dramatically.
When faulty airbag systems are discovered, the government may issue recalls. This occurred most notably in recent years with the Takata airbag recall in 2015, which involved over 250 reported injuries and 23 confirmed deaths and resulted in the recall of 67 million vehicles.
What To Do After An Injury Accident Involving A Faulty Airbag
If an airbag fails to deploy or deploys improperly, causing injury or death, you should seek not only medical attention but also the services of a qualified attorney. You may be eligible for compensation for economic and non-economic damages.
Contact the Chicago Car Accident Law Firm of Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys for Help Today
For more information, please contact the experienced Chicago car accident lawyers at Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys today. We offer free consultations.
We proudly serve Cook County, Will County, Kendall County, and its surrounding areas:
Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys – Chicago Office
10 S La Salle St STE 1230, Chicago, IL 60603
Phone:(312) 726-1616
Hours: Open 24/7
Our firm is located near you. We have an office in Chicago
Find us with our GeoCoordinates: 41.8815493,-87.6327515
Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys – Joliet Office
195 Springfield Ave, Joliet, IL 60435
Phone: (815) 726-1616
Our firm is located near you. We have an office in Joliet
Find us with our GeoCoordinates: 41.5254295,-88.1381011
