Physics of Car Crashes: Airbags Car crashes are a massive cause of death in the world, especially in Bangladesh. Every year, a lot of people die or get injured from car crashes. As car crashes are destructive for human life, we must take scientific measures to reduce the amount of danger in the crashes. There are different types of scientific measures that are taken all over the world, one of the most effective ones are airbags. An airbag’s goal is to slow down a passengers forward motion as far as possible in as less time (Brian, Marshall. ). Airbags were introduced in cars during the 1980’s. This airbag is placed in different parts of a car, around the driver’s seat and the passenger seats. They are positioned in front of the passenger for a frontal collision, they are placed on the sides (the doors) for a side collision. The sensors are placed in different areas of the car. When collisions take place, these sensors transmit signals to the airbag inflators, they then set the airbags off with nitrogen gas inside, which makes it like a soft pillow.
These airbags help by slowing down the time of impact between the passenger and the steering wheel/dashboard, because the more time it takes, the less damage it causes. To make the airbags work properly, the cars need to have some other safety measures, like seat belts and crumple zones. Airbags cannot withstand the force being put on it during a collision, so the seat belts reduce the force, and if you get too close to the airbag too fast, then it will hurt you.
So seat belts are necessary to stop the amount of force on an airbag. Crumple zones help increase the time of impact, so the passenger has more time to slow down as the car doesn’t stop suddenly, it takes time, and that again helps the airbag because a fast impact with an airbag can hurt the passenger. To be safe from a big impact with the airbag, you have to be at least 10 inches of the airbag, so it gives space for the airbag to inflate properly without the passenger hitting it (Brian, Marshall. ). Infants shall not be placed in the front seat because the airbag impact can kill an infant easily, while the back seats have more space in front so the impact will not be that severe. In conclusion, airbags are very important for the safety of a passenger, since airbags were introduced, 30% of fatalities have decreased. In Bangladesh however, there are no rules about airbags or seat belts, therefore, the vehicles that are made here (trucks, buses) do not have the safety measures needed in a car.
And because most people in Bangladesh use buses, and a lot of the accidents include buses and trucks, these rules are very important for the well-being of the bangladeshi people. And, In my opinion, there needs to be more improvements all over the world, because, even though there are airbags, the fatalities are still there, and they need to be brought down. Words: 514/550. Bibliography Brain, Marshall. “HowStuffWorks “How Airbags Work”. ” HowStuffWorks “Auto”. N. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Mar. 2013.
