Automobile airbags are designed to save lives during collisions by cushioning the occupant as he/she decelerates after impact. An airbag is more formally known as a Supplementary Restraint System (SRS), an Air Cushion Restraint System (ACRS), or the Supplemental Inflatable Restraint (SIR).
While airbags were originally installed to protect the driver from impacting the steering wheel or windshield during a collision, airbags are now standard on the driver and passenger side for frontal impacts, and many vehicles have side curtain airbags to protect occupants during side impacts. Airbags use a combination of design, sensor, and chemical technologies to deploy successfully during a collision.