During a collision, airbags are meant to stop the occupants of a vehicle from hitting either the interior of the vehicle they are in or hitting some exterior object, such as another vehicle or a tree. They are found in many personal and commercial vehicles in order to protect whoever may be inside the vehicle.
While many other vehicles on the road have airbags installed to keep the occupants of the vehicle safe, semi-trucks do not require airbags. Semi-trucks tend to move slower than other vehicles on the road, and the larger mass allows for the truck to decelerate slowly during a collision.
Continue reading to learn more about why semi-trucks do not have airbags. Also, continue reading to learn why many vehicles are required to have airbags and the purpose airbags serve in a vehicle.
Why Airbag Requirements Do Not Apply to Semi Trucks
It was not until the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 went into effect that it became law for vehicles to require airbags. The move to include airbags was part of a push to reduce the number of deaths and injuries that came with vehicle accidents. While the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 required vehicles to include airbags, this act did not apply to semi-trucks.
Semi-trucks are not required to have airbags because the driver inside the cab does not receive a large amount of force when a collision occurs. Due to the vehicle’s large mass and the slower deceleration, the energy that the semi-truck would receive in a collision is typically a smaller amount than the energy that the other vehicle that is hit.
Another reason for the lack of airbags in semi-trucks is that most semi-trucks are commercial vehicles or “work” trucks. The drivers of these vehicles are meant to be wearing protective gear, which could cause serious injury to the wearer if this gear is forced upon by the airbag.
While airbags are not required, some automakers choose to include them in the driver’s cab, anyway.
Why Do Any Vehicles Have Airbags?
The bottom line is that airbags save lives in vehicles that decelerate quickly, especially in cars when there is a passenger in the front seat with the driver.
In cars, airbags prevent the driver and front passenger from colliding with each other during a crash and prevent all occupants of the vehicle from being ejected from the car. The primary purpose of airbags in vehicles is to lower the risk of death or injury when in some sort of accident or collision.
When a vehicle stops quickly, an airbag inflates upon impact to serve as a cushion for the occupants of a vehicle when in a collision. The risk factors above tend to apply more widely to passenger vehicles than commercial vehicles like semi trucks.
Where Airbags Are Located in Passenger Vehicles
Airbags can be found in a car in areas such as:
- The center pad of the steering wheel
- The upper left part of the dash
- The lower dash
- In the seats
- In the doors of the vehicle
In each of these locations, the airbags are meant to lower the risk of injury.
Lives Are Saved by Airbags
According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, it is estimated that 50,457 lives have been saved by frontal airbags. It is also estimated, in 2012, 2,252 lives have been saved by side airbags. Frontal airbags have reduced the number of driver fatalities and fatalities of front-seat passengers.
However, there have been instances where the driver or passenger in a collision is injured or killed by the airbag.
The causes and circumstances of semi truck crashes tend to differ from those of cars and other small vehicles. As do the means for preventing injury and death from these crashes.
Final Thoughts
Airbags are installed in vehicles in order to prevent death and serious injury when in a collision or an accident. While personal vehicles, such as smaller cars, are required to have airbags, semi-trucks are not required to have them installed, so many of them do not have airbags.
The reasoning behind this is due to the larger side and slower deceleration of semi-trucks when compared to other vehicles on the road. If a semi-truck were to get into a collision with a smaller vehicle, the semi-truck would experience a slower deceleration, and the force of the impact will affect the smaller car rather than the semi-truck.