[Physics] Sudden Acceleration-Airbag Safety
Title: Explain the way to reduce child fatality rate caused by airbag.
Airbag Safety
When people think about vehicle safety devices, there are two things coming out easily. Seat belts and airbags. But, one of them, airbag may hurt or kill the life when it is used improperly. Also, it affects differently on children and adults. Therefore, children and adults should use safety devices differently, but not many know it. When the airbag is used without seat belt, it increases the fatality rate. However, many people do not know it properly. Also, this issue was always talked about, but no actual actions were done. Therefore, I want to explain the danger of airbag for children, correct way to use airbag as ‘safety device’, and the solution that science can do through this one world essay.
What is Airbag? How it works?
Airbag is the bag that is hidden in many parts of the car, like in the handle. When the car crashes something in more than certain speed, impact on the crash sensor, the inflator makes the nitrogen gas by chemical reaction, which deploys the airbag and save the lives.
When the car has sudden negative acceleration, because of the inertia, people’s body will bend forward and may hit the part of the car, which is hard enough to hurt people or may kill. The airbag prevent it. Especially, when the head bumped into the part of the car, such as handle, there are much possibility to cause serious problems, such as damaging brain, concussion, and lead to death. However, the airbag may increase the fatality rate when it is used improperly. One case is using it without seat belt. The airbag is supporting device for the seat belt. Seat belt stops the body to bounce to the front because of the sudden acceleration. Although the seat belt stops the body, head will bend forward. When the airbag deploys, it will protect the head. However, when the passenger didn’t put the seat belt, and the airbag deploys, it occurs worse problem than no airbag. The other problem depends on the size of the passenger’s body. (YouTube video) The airbag is able to protect the head when the passenger is over at least 140-150cm height. When the passenger is shorter than that, the airbag will cause difficulty with breathing because the head of passenger will be in the airbag, include nose and the mouth, so the passenger can’t breathe.
Airbag dangers for children
In 2010, more than 1200 children ages 14 or below were died and more than 171,000 were injured by the motor vehicle crashes. (Cdc.gov, 2013) A lot of cases happened by the small children sitting on the front seat. As the video explains, it is very dangerous for small kids sitting on the front seat, using same seal belt and airbags as adults.
Proper way to use airbag
The most important thing to use airbag properly is to put seat belt all the time. Airbag can’t save people’s lives without it, both adults and children. It can support the seat belt and reduce the fatality rate, but increases the fatality rate when it is used alone especially for smaller people who have weaker neck bone which can easily damaged by impact. Also, drivers should check the airbag. There are some cases that the airbag doesn’t deploy even the accident occurred. When the airbag on the dashboard comes out, the car should be checked. However, except the light, there is no certain way to check the airbag. Parents should care children differently. When the children are less than 135cm, they should seat on back with child car seat. This is because airbag is for taller people than them. When the airbag on the front seat worked for people who are smaller than 135cm, the body can’t be bounced back by the airbag, but the face goes into the airbag and stays, which covers mouth and nose, and causes dyspnoea (difficulties in breathing) and might die. Also because the airbag deploys too fast (320km/s), comparatively weak children’s neck and head can be damaged more easily than adults. (GM.ca, 2011) Therefore, children under 135cm must sit on the back seats.
Scientific solution
Science should support more. Even the problem was talked for last 15 to 20 years since the airbag had been used, there is no actual effort for it. There were some patents talked about it. One was using 2 steps of the airbag deployment. When the child is sitting on the seat, only first step works, which deploys in slower speed, that will reduce hurts from the sudden high acceleration of deployment. (Kim, 1996) The other idea is to put the sensor under the seat, that can measure the weight of passenger. Then, depends on the weight, the gas comes out to deploy the airbag changes, so can reduce deaths or injury. (Jung, 1997) However, there was no any case that these ideas were used. I chose the first idea, 2-step deployment, and explored it.
This idea uses sensor under the seat and two inflators. The airbag is in front of the passenger seat, next to the driver, and the sensor is under the passenger seat. There are two airbag inflators. When the passenger is under certain weight (sensor), only one inflator works. Therefore the airbag will deploy comparatively slower and less powerful than for adults. When the passenger is over certain weight, two inflator works, and the airbag deploys in same speed and same power as airbags exist now. Also, there is one more suggested idea can work with this idea; airbag should deploys in different location for different height. (Song & Jang, 2006) When car crashes and the airbag deploys, head and chest hits the airbag, but for children, only the head is surrounded by the airbag, which causes dyspnoea and death.
(Song, S. Jung, M., 2006)
As the sensor reads, when the airbag explores in different location, dyspnoea will decreases. The solution will definitely reduce the child fatality rate. However, the economic issue might causes the problem. Airbag with the sensor and two inflators will cost much more than the airbag being used currently. The company might not want to spend higher cost for airbag, which is only used when the car actually crashes into something.
This solution is interacted very well with social problems. The problem was the issue about the lives of people. The airbag is made for ‘saving lives’, but harmed or killed the lives a lot. It is a very serious social problem because the device made for safety kills the lives but the developers don’t react. Except any technical solutions, deaths and injuries can be decreased easily just by informing about it to drivers and passengers. With the technical solution, the child fatality rate is expected to decrease directly. However, the solution has limited realizable possibility to be implemented because of the economic issues. There were a lot of recalls caused by the airbag malfunction. (Autos, 2013) New airbag will cost a lot to invent, but also the company should risk for the new technology that no other companies tried, which might be recalled that causes huge loss. The risk will depress invention of the solution. Also, when the solution actually created, we can’t be convinced for it to be effective. In theory, the fatality rate should reduce, but there can be some errors or needing solution for new problems. Because it is not done yet, we can’t sure the effectiveness of it.
Conclusion
There are so many kids died because of the airbag, safety devices. Therefore, I suggested new airbag that can help with it. Use two steps of deployment to give difference between adults and children. Also, make airbag deploys to different direction so that the airbag can affect samely on both children and adults. This solution is important. But, the most important thing is the users; drivers and passengers. Everyone should know how the airbag works and the ‘correct’ way to use it. Even with the perfect airbag for everyone, when it is used improperly, it will kill the person. When the safety devices is used incorrectly, it is no more safety device. It is killing device.
References
Autos, P. (2013). Airbag recalls reach new record in 2013. [online] Retrieved from: https://autos.aol.com/article/airbag-recalls-reach-new-record-in-2013/.
Cdc.gov. (2013). Cdc – child passenger safety fact sheet – motor vehicle safety – injury center. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/child_passenger_safety/cps-factsheet.html.
Chemistry.wustl.edu. (2000). Chemistry behind airbags. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.chemistry.wustl.edu/~edudev/LabTutorials/Airbags/airbags.html.
GM.ca. (2011). Owner centre – automotive. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.gm.ca/gm/english/owner_centre/saturn/autocare/article/1233069326374 [Accessed: 19 Jan 2014].
how the airbag works. (2010). [image online] Available at: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/safety-regulatory-devices/airbag1.htm.
Jung, J. (1997). 어린이 보호용 에어백 장치 및 그 제어방법:네이버 전문정보. [online] Retrieved from: http://academic.naver.com/view.nhn?doc_id=720487&applicationNumber=1019970059016&dir_id=0&ndsCategoryId=30100&page=0&query=%EC%97%90%EC%96%B4%EB%B0%B1%20%EC%96%B4%EB%A6%B0%EC%9D%B4 [Accessed: 19 Jan 2014].
Kim, D. (1996). 어린이 보호형 에어백 장치.:네이버 전문정보. [online] Retrieved from: http://academic.naver.com/view.nhn?doc_id=568128&applicationNumber=2019960061959&dir_id=0&ndsCategoryId=30100&page=0&query=%EC%97%90%EC%96%B4%EB%B0%B1%20%EC%96%B4%EB%A6%B0%EC%9D%B4 [Accessed: 19 Jan 2014].
Song, S. & Jang, M. (2006). Low risk deployment passenger airbag system, Patent 7070201. [Accessed: 13 Jan 2014].
Today Tonight. (2014). Airbag dangers for small children. embedded by Embedded VideoDownload Video Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrBQr0hqYyI.
Tristanmac.tripod.com. (n.d.). The use of the airbag. [online] Retrieved from: http://tristanmac.tripod.com/id8.html [Accessed: 19 Jan 2014].