The front center airbag explodes from the right side of the driver’s seat and then positions itself between the front row seats near the console.
General Motors will introduce the industry’s first front center airbag, aka interseat, on the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, and Chevrolet Traverse mid-size crossovers during the 2013 model year. The inflatable restraint is designed to help protect drivers and front passengers during side impact crashes where the affected occupant is on the opposite, non-struck side of the vehicle.
This new airbag safety device – a world first – will be standard on Acadia and Traverse equipped with power seats and all Enclave models.
A GM analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System database (FARS) found that far-side impact crashes accounted for 11% of the belted front occupant fatalities in non-rollover impacts between 2004 and 2009.
Also implied in the data GM looked at is the hypothesis that much more work remains to be done by automakers on interior design, including fixing seat belts that don’t hold an occupant laterally, fixing the now ubiquitous center consoles that are causing serious and fatal injuries, and redesigning the seat itself, which allows deadly movement in the first place. With intense engineering, some of these problems could be solved with passive solutions. This could be far less expensive than adding another airbag to every new vehicle. It could also be more effective for greater numbers of car buyers.
The front center airbag explodes from the right side of the driver’s seat and then positions itself between the front row seats near the center of the vehicle. This tethered, tubular airbag is designed to provide restraint during passenger-side crashes when the driver is the only front occupant, and also acts as an energy absorbing cushion between driver and front passenger in both driver- and passenger-side crashes.
The sound of the center airbag deployment is about that of a 12-gauge shotgun.
The non-vented airbag – meaning it stays inflated – also is expected to provide safety benefits in longer duration rollovers.These far-side fatalities involving 1999 model year or newer vehicles happened where the occupant was on the non-struck side of the vehicle. The data represent 29% of all the belted front occupant fatalities during side impacts.
“The front center airbag is not required by federal regulation, and no other airbag in passenger vehicles today offers the type of restraint and cushioning this airbag is designed to provide for front occupants,” said Scott Thomas, senior staff engineer in GM’s advanced restraint systems at a press preview today.
GM and supplier Takata developed the front center air bag over the course of three years, testing many design iterations to achieve packaging, cushioning, and restraint for a variety of crashes and occupant positions. Numerous elements of the airbag’s jointly patented cushion design address the restraint’s unique performance characteristics while considering a range of occupant sizes.
“The front center airbag has real potential to save lives in side crashes,” said Adrian Lund, president of the insurance Institute for Highway Safety. “GM and Takata are to be commended for taking the lead in this important area.”
