Are Airbags Legally Required Uk

30 Sep Are Airbags Legally Required Uk

There are many laws, both state and federal, that govern the operation of a motor vehicle that is not equipped with airbags as a safety device. While there are no laws that explicitly state that it is illegal to drive a motor vehicle that does not have airbags, there are specific federal laws that state that it is not permitted to remove or modify airbags in a motor vehicle. Congress` decision to make airbags mandatory may have been influenced by skepticism that began in the 1970s and 1980s. Some countries outside of North America comply with the UNECE`s internationalized European regulations for vehicles and equipment and not with the United States` federal motor vehicle safety standards. ECE airbags tend to be smaller and less inflated than U.S. airbags because ECE specifications are based on belt crash test dummies. In the early 1970s, General Motors began offering cars with airbags, initially in Chevrolet Impala sedans purchased by the government in 1973. These cars came with a 1974-style Oldsmobile dashboard and a special steering wheel that included the driver`s airbag. Two of these cars were subjected to a crash test after 20 years and the airbags were perfectly deployed. [29] One of the first examples of airbag cars survived from 2009. [30] GM`s Oldsmobile Toronado was the first U.S. domestic vehicle with a passenger airbag.

[31] [When?] [Citation needed] General Motors marketed its first airbag modules under the name “Air Cushion Restraint System” (ACRS). The automaker dropped the option for its 1977 model year, citing a lack of consumer interest. Ford and GM then spent years campaigning against airbag requirements, claiming the devices were not feasible and inappropriate. Chrysler made driver airbags the standard on models from 1988 to 1989, but airbags did not spread in American cars until the early 1990s. [32] The vehicle`s airbags are controlled by a Central Airbag Control Unit[99] (ACU), a specific type of ECU. The ACU monitors a number of related sensors in the vehicle, including accelerometers, impact sensors, side (door) pressure sensors, wheel speed sensors[100][101], gyroscopes, brake pressure sensors, and seat occupancy sensors. Often, ACUs record this and other sensor data in a circular buffer and record it in built-in non-volatile memory to provide investigators with a snapshot of the accident event. Therefore, an ACU often acts as the vehicle`s event data logger. Not all BDUs are UCUs, and not all UCUs include EDR features. [102]: 15 An ACU typically contains capacitors in its circuit so that the module remains powered and can deploy the airbags in case the vehicle`s battery connection to the ACU is interrupted in an accident. [102]: 102 [103]: 3 Airbags were almost unknown in Europe until the early 1990s. In 1991, four manufacturers – BMW, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo – offered the airbag for some of their high-end models, but soon after, airbags became a common feature of mainstream cars, Ford and Vauxhall/Opel among manufacturers introducing the airbag into their model ranges in 1992.

Citroën, Fiat, Nissan, Hyundai, Peugeot, Renault and Volkswagen followed soon after. Ecuador has been requiring dual front airbags in new car models since 2013. [118] The Euro NCAP Vehicle Safety Assessment encourages manufacturers to take a comprehensive approach to occupant safety; A good score can only be achieved by combining airbags with other safety features. [116] Almost all new cars sold in Europe are equipped with front and side airbags, but in the European Union in 2020[117] and in the United Kingdom and most other developed countries, there is no direct legal obligation for new cars to carry airbags. This terminology does not refer to active and passive safety, which are systems designed to prevent collisions in the first place and systems designed to minimize the effects of collisions as soon as they occur. In this use, an anti-lock braking system for cars is considered an active safety device, while its seat belts and airbags are considered passive safety devices. Further terminological confusion may result from the fact that passive devices and systems – those that do not require the intervention or action of the vehicle occupant – can operate independently and actively; An airbag is one such device. Vehicle safety experts are generally cautious about using language to avoid this type of confusion, although advertising principles sometimes prevent such semantic caution when consumers market safety devices. To further confuse the terminology, the aviation safety community uses the terms “active” and “passive” in the opposite sense of the automotive industry. [8] Side airbags have recently appeared in cars.

These work in the same way as the front airbags, but are located either in the side structure of the car or in the seats. As the name suggests, they are designed to inflate and protect occupants in the event of a side impact. No. The link refers to the removal of the airbag guidance to a descending level. The current rules of the TÜV have not changed, the airbag must be present. Efforts are underway to find alternative compounds that can be used in airbags that contain fewer toxic reagents. [105] In a review article by Akiyoshi et al., it was found that for the reaction of complex nitrate Sr (Sr(NH2NHCONHNH2)∙(NO3)2) of carbonohydrazide (SrCDH) with various oxidizing agents led to the development of N2 and CO2 gases. The use of KBrO3 as an oxidizing agent resulted in the strongest reaction as well as the lowest initial temperature of the reaction. The N2 and CO2 gases developed accounted for 99% of all gases developed. [106] Almost all raw materials do not decompose until temperatures of 500°C or higher are reached, which could be a viable option as an airbag gas generator. In a patent that included another plausible alternative to NaN3-powered airbags, gas-producing materials included the use of guanidinitrate, 5-aminotetrazole, bitetrazole dihydrate, nitroimidazole and basic copper nitrate.