User:The Founders Intent/Sandbox Air bags/New Article Outline
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An air bag, A.K.A. a Supplementary Restraint System (SRS), an Air Cushion Restraint System (ACRS), or the Supplemental Inflatable Restraint (SIR) (reflecting the air bag system's intended role as a supplement to conventional restraints such as seatbelts) is a flexible membrane or envelope. Air bags are most commonly used for cushioning, in particular for rapid inflation in the case of an automobile collision. Air bags are designed to complement conventional restraints such as seatbelts and seatbelt pre-tentioners, not replace them. The number of lives saved by airbags is hard to pin down. One study, cited below, puts the number at just under 400 per year (6,000 total), and another study indicates that air bags reduce fatalities by 8% when seatbelts are worn. Airbags also greatly increase the efficiency of seat-belts, in some cases up to 50%.[citation needed]
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Airbag_SEAT_Ibiza.jpg/320px-Airbag_SEAT_Ibiza.jpg)