Airbags are designed to keep your head, neck, and chest from slamming into the dash, steering wheel or windshield in a front-end crash. They are not designed to inflate in rear-end or rollover crashes or in most side crashes. Generally, airbags are designed to deploy in crashes that are equivalent to a vehicle crashing into a solid wall at 8-14 mph. Airbags most often deploy when a vehicle collides with another vehicle or with a solid object like a tree.

Airbags inflate when a sensor detects a front-end crash. The sensor sends an electric signal to start a chemical reaction that inflates the airbag with harmless nitrogen gas. All this happens faster than the blink of an eye. Airbags have vents, so they deflate immediately after cushioning you. They cannot smother you and they don't restrict your movement. The "smoke" you may have seen in a vehicle after an airbag demonstration is the nontoxic starch or talc that is used to lubricate the airbag.

Are all air bags the same?

No. Airbags differ in design and performance. There are differences in the crash speeds that trigger air bag deployment, the speed and force of deployment, the size and shape of airbags, and the manner in which they unfold and inflate. That is why you should contact your vehicle manufacturer if you want specific information about the airbags in your particular car or truck.