When Were Air Bags Invented?

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For years, the seat belt provided the sole form of passive restraint in our cars. There were debates about their safety, especially relating to children, but over time, much of the country adopted seat-belt laws.

Air bags have been under development for many years. The attraction of a soft pillow to land against in a crash must be very strong. The first patent on an inflatable crash landing device for airplanes was filed during World War II. In the 1980s the first commercial air bags appeared in automobiles.

Since 1998, all new cars have been required to have air bags on both driver and passenger sides. Statistics show that air bags reduce the risk of dying in a direct frontal crash by about 30 percent. Newer than steering wheel mounted or dashboard mounted bags, are seat mounted and door mounted side air bags. Air bags are the subject of serious government and industry research and test, just as controversy surrounded seat belt use in its early years.



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