Today, airbags are made in every vehicle to ensure the driver and front-seat passenger are protected in the event of a serious auto collision. This wasn’t always the case and, while airbags are still fairly new, they do have an interesting history. This overview will help you understand more about airbags and the law that requires them.

Who Invented Airbags?

The airbag system can be traced as far back as 1968 when Allen Breed invented and patented the first sensor system for the airbags. Although Walter Linderer and John Hetrick invented a less sophisticated system in 1951, their systems each relied on compressed air to deploy the bag. Breed’s system used electronic sensors and mechanical processes to deploy the bag faster. While traffic accidents still resulted in the same need for auto repairs, the airbag deployment system helped save more lives.

The airbag feature was restricted to government vehicles after they passed the testing phase, so it was a couple of decades before the safety feature was available publicly. The 1973 Oldsmobile Toronado was the first publicly available vehicle to feature an airbag on the front passenger side. General Motors added driver’s side airbags a few years later to provide better auto collision safety, but Ford resisted the trend for another 10 years. Their 1984 Tempo was the first car to feature driver’s side airbags. By the middle of the 1990s, airbags were standard in the majority of vehicles manufactured in the United States.

When Were Laws Updated to Require Airbags? 

The federal government started drafting a law that mandated airbags in all vehicles as early as 1991, but the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act didn’t go into effect until 1998. That law requires that any vehicle sold in the United States, regardless of where it was manufactured, have airbags for both the driver and passenger in the front seat. As this law resulted in a more widespread use of airbags, more people were able to survive the kinds of auto collisions that might otherwise have been fatal.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, 50,457 lives were saved as the result of airbag deployments between 1987 through 2017. In 2017 alone, the organization estimated that airbags saved 2,790 front passengers and drivers.

If you are involved in an accident, you’ll need to take your vehicle to a state of the art auto collision repair center. Located in Dothan, AL, Mike Smith's Automotive Collision Center is staffed by experienced I-Car® certified technicians. Their entire staff is dedicated to providing you with skilled repair services and friendly customer service because they understand an auto accident is stressful enough. You can learn more about their services online, or you can call (334) 792-0446 to schedule an appointment for an estimate.