Editing Airbag (section)

==== Frontal airbag ====
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The auto industry and research and regulatory communities have moved away from their initial view of the airbag as a seat-belt replacement, and the bags are now nominally designated as supplemental restraint systems ('''SRS''') or supplemental inflatable restraints.

In 1981, [[Mercedes-Benz]] introduced the airbag in [[West Germany]] as an option on its flagship saloon model, [[Mercedes-Benz W126|S-Class (W126)]]. In the Mercedes system, the sensors automatically tensioned the seat belts to reduce occupants' motion on impact and then deployed the airbag on impact. This integrated the seat belts and the airbag into a restraint system, rather than the airbag being considered an alternative to the seat belt.

In 1987, the [[Porsche 944]] Turbo became the first car to have driver and passenger airbags as standard equipment.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.excellence-mag.com/issues/179/articles/porsche-airbag-systems |title=Porsche Airbag Systems |first1=Tony |last1=Callas |first2=Tom |last2=Prine |work=Excellence Magazine |location=US |date=30 November 2009 |access-date=14 November 2022}}</ref> The Porsche 944 and 944S had this as an available option. The same year also had the first airbag in a Japanese car, the [[Honda Legend]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.jsae.or.jp/autotech/data_e/7-3e.html |title=240 Landmarks of Japanese Automotive Technology – Subaru Legend airbag system |publisher=Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan |access-date=16 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141123222600/http://www.jsae.or.jp/autotech/data_e/7-3e.html |archive-date=23 November 2014}}</ref>

In 1988, [[Chrysler]] became the first United States automaker to fit a driver-side airbag as standard equipment, which was offered in six different models.<ref name="Godshall">{{cite journal|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=duNp3hLLlkUC&pg=PA71|first=Jeffery|last=Godshall |title=Form, Function, and Fantasy – seventy years of Chrysler design |journal=Automobile Quarterly |volume=32 |issue=4 |pages=70–71 |access-date=27 April 2019 |isbn=9781596139275}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url= http://www.automotive-fleet.com/article/story/1988/07/chrysler-introduces-driver-side-air-bags.aspx |title=Chrysler Introduces Driver-Side Air Bags |date=July 1988 |magazine=Automotive Fleet |access-date=27 April 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140316195140/http://www.automotive-fleet.com/article/story/1988/07/chrysler-introduces-driver-side-air-bags.aspx |archive-date=16 March 2014 }}</ref> The following year, Chrysler became the first US auto manufacturer to offer driver-side airbags in all its new passenger models.<ref>{{cite web |title=Automobile Safety |url= https://americanhistory.si.edu/america-on-the-move/essays/automobile-safety |work=National Museum of American History |date=24 July 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=K0Le2urkC0cC&pg=PA220|page=220 |title=Business ethics|first=William H. |last=Shaw |publisher=Wadsworth/Cengage |year=2011 |isbn=9780495808763 |access-date=16 March 2014}}</ref> Chrysler also began featuring the airbags in advertisements showing how the devices had saved lives that helped the public know the value of them and safety became a selling advantage in the late 1980s.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=1990 Government Mandates Safety |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=May 1996 |volume=173 |issue=5 |page=59 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=MWUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA59 |access-date=5 November 2019}}</ref> All versions of the [[Chrysler minivans (AS)|Chrysler minivans]] came with airbags starting for the 1991 model year.<ref name="Godshall"/> In 1993, The Lincoln Motor Company boasted that all vehicles in their model line were equipped with dual airbags, one for the driver's side and another for the passenger's side.<ref>{{cite AV media |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMJSXyTnOhI |title=1993 Lincoln safety ad |via=YouTube}}</ref> The [[Jeep Grand Cherokee (ZJ)|1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee]] became the first SUV to offer a driver-side airbag when it was launched in 1992.<ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=pOMDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA25|pages=25–27 |date=July 1993 |magazine=Popular Mechanics |title=Jeep Grand Cherokee – another home run for the home team |first=Michael |last=Lamm |volume=170 |issue=7 |access-date=16 March 2014}}</ref> Driver and passenger airbags became standard equipment in all [[Dodge Intrepid]], [[Eagle Vision]], and [[Chrysler Concorde]] sedans ahead of any safety regulations.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=mAZeW0y7h5sC&pg=PA147|page=147 |title=Air Bag Safety: Hearing Before the Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation, U.S. Senate |year=1996 |editor-first=Larry |editor-last=Pressler |publisher=Dianne Publishing |access-date=16 March 2014|isbn=9780788170676 }}</ref><ref>Legislation passed in 1991 required driver and front passenger airbags for passenger vehicles offered for sale in the US after September 1997 and for other vehicles after September 1998.{{cite book |title=Air Bag Safety: Hearing Before the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportations US Senate 104 Congress 2nd session |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=R-bXBSwvBO8C&pg=PA3 |date=2 March 1996 |isbn=9780788170676 |last1=Pressler|first1=Larry| publisher=DIANE }}</ref> Early 1993 saw the 4-millionth airbag-equipped Chrysler vehicle roll off the assembly line.<ref>{{cite press release|url= http://www.thefreelibrary.com/CHRYSLER+AIR+BAG+PRODUCTION+HITS+4+MILLION+UNITS-a013141245 |title=Chrysler air bag production hits 4 million units |date=19 April 1993 |agency=PRNewswire |website=thefreelibrary.com |access-date=16 March 2014}}</ref> In October 1993, the [[Dodge Ram]] became the first [[pickup truck]] with a standard driver-side airbag.<ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=5-MDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA24|page=24 |title=Design and Engineering Awards |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=January 1994 |volume=171 |issue=1 |access-date=16 March 2014}}</ref>

The first known collision between two airbag-equipped automobiles took place on 12 March 1990 in [[Virginia]], USA. A 1989 [[Chrysler LeBaron]] crossed the [[Road surface marking|center line]] and hit another 1989 Chrysler LeBaron in a [[head-on collision]], causing both driver airbags to deploy. The drivers suffered only minor injuries despite extensive damage to the vehicles.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.proquest.com/docview/307238903 |title=Va. Crash Shines Spotlight on Air Bags; Safety Experts Say They Feel Vindicated in 20-Year Battle |date= 31 March 1990 |last1=Cohn |first1=D'Vera |last2=Henderson |first2=Nell |page=A.01 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171013172923/https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/doc/307238903.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Mar+31%2C+1990&author=Cohn%2C+D%27Vera%3B+Henderson%2C+Nell&pub=The+Washington+Post+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&edition=&startpage=a.01&desc=Va.+Crash+Shines+Spotlight+on+Air+Bags%3BSafety+Experts+Say+They+Feel+Vindicated+in+20-Year+Battle |archive-date=13 October 2017 |id={{ProQuest|307238903}} |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1990/04/01/air-bags-save-2-lives-in-historic-collision/ |title=Air Bags Save 2 Lives in Historic Collision |date=1 April 1990 |newspaper=Orlando Sentinel |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160818150250/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1990-04-01/business/9003312872_1_woody-crash-bags |archive-date=18 August 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{citation|url= http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20117450,00.html |title=Dueling Air Bags Allow Two Virginia Drivers to Walk Away from a Horrifying Head-on Collision |date=23 April 1990 |volume=33 |issue=16 |magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]] |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160914213704/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0%2C%2C20117450%2C00.html |archive-date=14 September 2016 }}</ref>

The United States [[Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act]] of 1991 required passenger cars and light trucks built after 1 September 1998 to have airbags for the driver and the front passenger.<ref name="AirBagTechnology">{{cite web|url= http://www.nhtsa.gov.edgesuite-staging.net/DOT/NHTSA/NRD/Multimedia/PDFs/Crashworthiness/Air%20Bags/rev_report.pdf |page=1 |date=21 June 2001 |title=Air Bag Technology in Light Passenger Vehicles |author=((Office of Research and Development)) |publisher=U.S. NHTSA |access-date=16 March 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141215001813/http://www.nhtsa.gov.edgesuite-staging.net/DOT/NHTSA/NRD/Multimedia/PDFs/Crashworthiness/Air%20Bags/rev_report.pdf |archive-date=15 December 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/federal-legislation-makes-airbags-mandatory |title=Sep 1, 1998: Federal legislation makes airbags mandatory |website=history.com |date=13 November 2009 |access-date=16 March 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140316195048/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/federal-legislation-makes-airbags-mandatory |archive-date=16 March 2014 }}</ref> In the United States, NHTSA estimated that airbags had saved over 4,600 lives by 1 September 1999; however, the crash deployment experience of the early 1990s installations indicated that some fatalities and serious injuries were in fact caused by airbags.<ref name="AirBagTechnology"/> In 1998, NHTSA initiated new rules for advanced airbags that gave automakers more flexibility in devising effective technological solutions. The revised rules also required improved protection for occupants of different sizes regardless of whether they use seat belts, while minimizing the risk to infants, children, and other occupants caused by airbags.<ref name="AirBagTechnology"/>

In [[Europe]], airbags were almost unheard of until the early 1990s. By 1991, four manufacturers – [[BMW]], [[Honda]], Mercedes-Benz, and [[Volvo]] – offered the airbag on some of their higher-end models, but shortly afterward, airbags became a common feature on more mainstream cars, with [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] and [[Vauxhall Motors|Vauxhall]]/[[Opel]] among the manufacturers to introduce the airbag to its model ranges in 1992. [[Citroën]], [[Fiat]], [[Nissan]], [[Hyundai Motor Group|Hyundai]], [[Peugeot]], [[Renault]], and [[Volkswagen]] followed shortly afterwards.

By 1999, finding a new mass-market car without an airbag at least as optional equipment was difficult, and some late 1990s products, such as the [[Volkswagen Golf Mk4]], also featured side airbags. The [[Peugeot 306]] is one example of the European automotive mass-market evolution: starting in early 1993, most of these models did not even offer a driver's airbag as an option, but by 1999, even side airbags were available on several variants. [[Audi]] was late to offer airbag systems on a broader scale, since even in the 1994 model year, its popular models did not offer airbags. Instead, the German automaker until then relied solely on its proprietary cable-based [[procon-ten]] restraint system.

[[Adaptive airbag|Variable force-deployment]] front airbags were developed to help minimize injury from the airbag itself.

The emergence of the airbag has contributed to a sharp decline in the number of deaths and serious injuries on the roads of Europe since 1990, and by 2010, the number of cars on European roads lacking an airbag represented a very small percentage of cars, mostly the remaining cars dating from the mid-1990s or earlier.

Many new cars in Latin America, including the [[Kia Rio]], [[Kia Picanto]], [[Hyundai Grand i10]], [[Mazda 2]], [[Chevrolet Spark]] and the [[Chevrolet Onix]], are often sold without airbags, as neither airbags nor [[Collision avoidance system|automatic braking]] systems in new cars are compulsory in many Latin American countries. Some require the installation of a minimum of only two airbags in new cars which many in this market have.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.elmundo.es/motor/2017/10/06/59d770ae22601d8e6e8b45b8.html |title=Latin NCAP: los vehículos de Latinoamérica, dos décadas por detrás en seguridad |trans-title=Latin NCAP: Latin American vehicles, two decades behind in safety |first=Denís |last=Iglesias |work=El Mundo |location=Spain |language=Spanish |date=10 October 2017 |access-date=24 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://motor.elpais.com/conducir/por-que-un-coche-protege-mejor-en-europa-que-en-latinoamerica/ |title=¿Por qué un coche protege mejor en Europa que en Latinoamérica? |trans-title=Why does a car protect better in Europe than in Latin America? |first=Mario |last=Herráez |work=El Motor |location=Spain |language=Spanish |date=13 September 2021 |access-date=24 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.elcolombiano.com/negocios/la-seguridad-de-los-carros-que-se-venden-en-america-latina-2023-OG21056585 |title=¿Por qué los carros que se venden en América Latina no son tan seguros como en Europa? |trans-title=Why are the cars sold in Latin America not as safe as in Europe? |first=Alejandra Zapata |last=Quinchía |work=El Colombiano |location=Colombia |language=Spanish |date=10 April 2023 |access-date=24 July 2023}}</ref>

===== Shape of airbags =====
The [[Citroën C4]] provided the first "shaped" driver airbag, made possible by this car's unusual fixed-hub steering wheel.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,16128857-13232,00.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060512203054/http://theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0%2C20867%2C16128857-13232%2C00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 May 2006 |title=Citroen C4 |last=Wilson |first=Robert |date=3 August 2005 |newspaper=The Australian |access-date=3 November 2009 }}</ref>

In 2019, Honda announced it would introduce a new front passenger airbag technology. Developed by [[Autoliv]] and Honda R&D in [[Ohio, United States]], this new airbag design features three inflatable chambers connected across the front by a "noninflatable sail panel." The two outer chambers are larger than the middle chamber. When the airbag deploys, the sail panel cushions the occupant's head from the impact of hitting the airbag, and the three chambers hold the occupant's head in place, like a catcher's mitt. The goal of the tri-chamber airbag is to help "arrest high-speed movement" of the head, thereby reducing the likelihood of concussion injuries in a collision. The first vehicle to come with the tri-chamber airbag installed from the factory was in 2020 (for the 2021 model year) for the [[Acura TLX]]. Honda hopes that the new technology will soon make its way to all vehicles.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a28791083/honda-multi-compartment-airbag-cars/ |title=Honda's New Airbag Will Give Front Passengers Better Protection |first=Andrew |last=Wendler |work=Car and Driver |location=US |date=23 August 2019 |access-date=29 September 2022}}</ref>

===== Rear airbag =====
Mercedes began offering rear passengers protection in frontal collisions in September 2020 (for the 2021 model year) for the [[Mercedes-Benz S-Class (W223)]].<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/2021-mercedes-benz-s-class-safety-tech-rear-seat-airbags/ |title=2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class safety tech: Rear-seat airbags and 48-volt architecture |first=Steven |last=Ewing |date=2 September 2020 |access-date=11 February 2023}}</ref> The W223 S-Class is the first car equipped with rear seat airbags that use gas to inflate supporting structures that unfold and extend a bag that fills with ambient air, instead of conventional fully gas-inflated airbags that are widely used in automotive airbag systems.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a27535532/mercedes-benz-rear-seat-airbag-concept/ |title=An Airbag for the Back Seat? Mercedes-Benz Is Developing a Clever One |first=Alexander |last=Stoklosa |date=2019-05-22 |access-date=2023-02-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.autoblog.com/2020/07/29/2021-mercedes-benz-s-class-tech-preview/ |title=2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class gets rear-axle steering and trick new airbag tech |first=Zac |last=Palmer |work=AutoBlog |date=29 July 2020 |access-date=11 February 2023}}</ref>