GM Unveils Very First Front-Center Airbag

We all know that airbags keep us safe when we become unfortunately involved in an accident, but how do they actually work? According to “How Stuff Works,” airbags keep us safe by inflating when a collision that matches the impact of running into a brick wall at 10-15 mph occurs. Airbags then inflate with compressed air to provide a cushion for us, so that when we are slammed into them we are less likely to injure ourselves than if we had slammed into the hard surfaces of the vehicle. Up till now however, airbags have only been available in the steering wheel and dashboard, and sometimes also in the sides and doors of a vehicle.
General Motors has announced that they will be introducing the auto industry’s very first front center airbag. Of General Motors’ GMC and Buick lines, the airbag will be available in the 2013 Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia. The new safety feature will be available in the Acadias equipped with power seats and in all new Enclaves.
The way this new type of airbag works is by deploying from the right of the driver, which is in between the two front seats, and positioning itself into the center between the two seats. The airbag has a tube shape to it, and will provide many safety benefits to both drivers and passengers. Research shows that the bag will provide cushioning for the driver from a collision on the passenger’s side, when the driver is the only front occupant. The bag will also prevent driver and passenger from knocking into each other in the front seat after a collision. There is also some expectation that the airbag will be helpful in a rolling car.
The statistics show that this new type of airbag can greatly reduce fatalities. General Motors analyzed data from the National Highway Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System to find that this airbag addresses some of the problems directly related to crash fatalities. The type of crash that this airbag would prevent fatalities for occurred in 11 percent of fatalities where the driver was wearing a seatbelt from 2004-2009. This type of crash also accounted for 29 percent of fatalities when the occupant was wearing a seat belt and sitting on the non-impacted side of the vehicle.
“The front center airbag has real potential to save lives in side crashes,” said Adrian Lund who is the president of the insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The new airbags have been three years in the making, and they are finally ready to be brought out in next year’s models. These bags have been specifically designed to address a wide range of occupant sizes in a way that other airbags have not in the past. Gay Kent, GM’s executive director of Vehicle Safety and Crashworthiness has said “This technology is a further demonstration of GM’s above-and-beyond commitment to provide continuous occupant protection before, during and after a crash.”