By Brock Archer
These days, it seems like air bags are everywhere, and they are! After reviewing some various slide presentations online and seeing how much misinformation there was out there, I decided it was time to address air bags more thoroughly. In this four-part training, I will cover everything rescuers need to know about current air bag hazards. In this module (Part 1), I will examine the locations where we might find air bags in a vehicle. But first, we need to review the reason; it’s important to know why we must be aware of these air bag locations. For review, let’s take a look at this video on the Dayton Incident.
Now that we understand one of the risks that air bags present to us, let’s take a look at the various locations that manufacturers locate air bags to protect occupants. Keep in mind that there are several steps or “shut down procedures” we can perform to make the supplemental restraint system (SRS)/air bag system safer to operate around (which I will cover in Part 4 of this “Air Bag Avoidance” Training).
Air Bag Locations
You might be surprised by a few of the location where you find air bags. In all of my years of teaching vehicle extrication, I still have never had a classroom of participants that were able to list every location they might find an air bag in a vehicle. One important thing to remember when assessing a vehicle for air bags is that not all air bags are marked “SRS” or “Air Bag” and that the air bag markings do not necessarily indicate the location of the bag; they may only indicate that an air bag is present in the vehicle. Remember, these marking are present because the manufacturer wants to make the occupants feel safe, not to inform rescuers of their location. A good example of this is the air bag markings that are typically found on the B pillar of vehicles. There are not—and have never been—air bags in the B pillar of any vehicle, yet we often see “Air Bag” or “SRS” in this location.
Figure 1. Look at this photo and list and mark every location that you think you could find an air bag. I will also refer to this photo at the end of this article and training.
FIGURE 1.
Courtesy of Crash Recovery Systems.
Next, consider air bag locations In North American vehicles. To stay updated on new air bag locations as they are released, visit www.advancedextrication.com.
1. Driver’s Front Bag (photo 1) .The Driver’s front bag is located in the steering wheel of the vehicle. This bag is typically a pyrotechnic type inflator (which I will cover in Part 3). In almost all modern vehicles, the driver’s front bag is the only bag that does not use an inflation cylinder. All modern vehicles are equipped with this bag, which is mounted in the steering wheel. As with all undeployed air bags, rescuers should keep their distance even after the proper shutdown procedures have been made. The recommended safe distance from an undeployed driver’s bag is 10 inches.
(1) Photos by author.
2. Passenger Front Bag (photo 2). The front passenger bag is located in the dashboard area just in front of the passenger. This is the largest bag used in vehicles and is, in many cases, designed to bounce off of the inside of the windshield (this is what often causes the “spidering” of the windshield on the passenger side). Currently, manufacturers use inflation cylinders to charge this bag. With only a few exceptions, most vehicles are equipped with front passenger bags, and rescuers should always assume that one is present. In many cases, the dash is designed to separate on a seam to deploy the bag, in which case no “blow out panel” or makings will be present to indicate that the air bag exists. The recommended distance from the passenger front bag is 30 inches.
(2) This passenger front air bag deploys from a seam in the dash.
3. Roof or Curtain Air Bags (photo 3). Current vehicle safety standards have led to most manufacturers including curtain air bags or laminated side window glass in their vehicles to reduce the possibility of occupant ejection. In some cases (like vans or sport utility vehicles), two or even three curtain bags on each side of the vehicle are used. These bags are always inflation cylinder powered, and the location of the cylinder will vary from inside the bag itself, in a pillar, in the dash, in speaker deck, or in the center roof area on the vehicle. Curtain bags deploy from the roof rail under the trim and can reach down as far as the pelvic area of the occupant. These bags stay inflated longer than front bags to ensure occupant protection in a multiple rollover accident. Rescuers should avoid placing their head or body through the window of a vehicle until the air bag system has been disabled. Additionally, a deployed curtain bag can be cut away with shears to make access to a patient. The recommended distance from a curtain bag is five inches from the inside of the roof rail and completely clear of the deployment area under the bag.
Following is a short video of a curtain air bag deployment:
Figure 2 shows the schematics of a Toyota Land Cruiser. This vehicle uses two roof air bags on each side of the roof rail.
FIGURE 2. TOYOTA LAND CRUISER
Courtesy of Crash Recovery Systems.
4. Side or Torso Air Bags (photo 4). Side air bags are intended to protect the occupant’s hip/pelvic region. These bags can be found in the door or on the outer edge (door side) of any seat in the vehicle. In the case of door-mounted side air bags, the bag will come out of the doors. These days, most manufacturers are using seat bags instead of the door-mounted type. In either case, the recommended distance to keep from these bags is five inches. Keep in mind, like most air bags, that modern seat and door bags are typically inflation cylinder powered (more on inflation cylinders in Part 3), which means rescuers should take care not to cut or crush the high-pressure cylinder that powers these air bags.
Following is a video of a seat-mounted side air bag being deployed:
(4) A door air bag blowout panel.
5. Knee Air Bags (photo 5). Knee air bags are very common in modern vehicles. These bags deploy from the dash in the area right in front of the occupants knees and shins and are designed to keep the occupant from sliding down under the dash and for general protection. Like many air bags, knee air bags are strictly inflation cylinder powered. These bags can be found on both the front driver and the front passenger areas of the vehicle. The recommended distance to keep from an undeployed knee air bag is 20 inches. One thing that makes knee bags unique is many of them are designed to deploy with the plastic trim connected to the bag. In these cases, the trim actually makes contact with the occupant’s legs instead of the bag.
Following is a video of a knee air bag deployment:
(5) Location of the knee air bag.
6. Seat Belt Air Bags. Seat belt air bags have been used for several years now. These bags are designed to cushion the impact on the wearer’s chest in the case of a high-impact collision. The Ford Explorer was the first vehicle to use them, but currently they can be found in a number of vehicles. These air bags pose very little risk to rescuers, but even undeployed seat belt air bags should be avoided. Identification of these air bags is fairly simple because the belts look distinctively different from a standard seat belt (photo 6) and the buckle (photo 7) is also very easy to identify.
(8, 9) Typical belt and buckle of a seat belt air bag.
Following is a video of a seat belt air bag being deployed:
7. Anti-Submarining Air Bags. Anti-Submarining air bags are located in the seat of the vehicle, just under the occupant’s knee/thigh area. These bags deploy in a front-end collision and help keep the occupant from “submarining” under the seat belt. The idea is to keep the lower belt from riding up onto the abdomen. These bags are not typically marked, so identifying them can be a challenge. Rescuers should use care when placing themselves on the seat of a vehicle equipped with anti-submarining air bags until proper shut down procedures have been made.
Following is a video of an anti-submarining air bag:
8. Rear Window Bag (photo 8). The rear window bag is a fairly new bag, first released in the Scion in 2012. This bag deploys from the headliner behind the rear occupants and protects them from hitting the rear windshield of the vehicle. This bag is useful for protecting occupants when the rear glass is in close proximity to the occupant’s head. This air bag is very much like a curtain bag, and rescuers should stay clear of the area below the undeployed bag.
(8)
9. Center Seat Air Bag (photo 9). The center seat air bag is the latest air bag to be released in the North American market. This bag deploys typically from the driver’s seat in between the front passengers. The purpose of this bag is to prevent the two occupants from slamming into one another in a side impact type of collision. This bag (like the side-seat bag), is designed to break a seam on the seat, and deploy upward to cover the occupants shoulder/head area.
(9)
Figure 3 shows the location of the center seat air bag.
FIGURE 3.
Courtesy of Crash Recovery Systems.
To complete this training, let’s take another look at the Figure 1. Circled all of the possible locations where we could find an un-deployed air bag.
In this article, I focused on air bag locations for vehicles within North America. There are several other air bags that can be found outside of North America, including the carpet air bag (in the PT Cruiser) and the pedestrian air bag (in the Volvo V40).
In parts 2-4, I will cover more air bag avoidance. Advanced Extrication is also presenting an online trainer program that presents everything instructors need to know to present the latest in vehicle extrication.
The online course can be viewed HERE
Stay tuned for parts 2-4 of my Air Bag Avoidance series. Those parts will cover the following:
Part 2: Understanding Smart Air bag Systems
Part 3: Inflation Cylinder Hazards
Part 4: Air bag Shutdown Procedures
Brock Archer is the former assistant fire chief for the Hopland (CA) Fire District. He is a multifaceted California State Fire Training Instructor and teaches vehicle extrication and swift water and rope rescue at the NFPA level. Archer sits as a principle committee member of the NFPA 1936 Standard, keeping him involved in all extrication tool manufacturing standards. He is also a contributing author to Fire Engineering and other various publications.
