Warning: Airbags do not replace seat belts. Moreover, when the vehicle is moving, the driver and front passenger must be fastened with seat belts, since in the event of a traffic accident, an inflating airbag can cause serious injury to a person not wearing a seat belt.
The SRS system consists of the following elements:
- driver airbag module located in the steering wheel hub and consisting of a folded airbag shell and a gas generator;
- front passenger airbag module (installed depending on the vehicle configuration), located in the instrument panel on the passenger side and consisting of a folded airbag shell and a gas generator;
- an electronic control unit installed under the floor tunnel lining and controlling the system;
- seat belts.
The force of impact during a traffic accident is determined by the electronic control unit (ECU) of the passive safety system using electronic accelerometers. Based on the accelerometer signal, the control unit activates the driver and passenger airbags.
If the car is equipped with driver and front passenger seat belt pretensioners, the electronic unit, analyzing information from accelerometers, issues a signal to increase the belt tension before activating the airbags. Pretensioners provide timely response to emergency deceleration of the car, pulling the driver and passengers to the seat backs, and also prevent their further movement forward by inertia and injury from the deployed airbag.
Note: The seat belt pretensioner mechanism is always activated before the airbag.
Additional elements of the passive safety system also include head restraints installed on all seats. Head restraints prevent damage to the cervical vertebrae of people sitting in the car in the event of a strong impact from behind and when the airbag is deployed.
Passive safety system components reduce the severity of injuries sustained in road accidents if the driver and passengers are correctly positioned in their seats and wearing seat belts. However, incorrect use of individual safety systems may actually increase the risk of injury in road accidents.