What is a Sidebag?

Slang or jargon terms are often invented for different words. The term sidebag s is one word which has come to mean the airbags which are fitted to the passenger seats or doors to provide additional protection during an impact from the side.

Motor vehicles, particularly passenger cars, first came out with an airbag that was for the driver only. As manufacturers became less stingy, airbags became common place for both the driver and the front passenger. Side-bags were invented.

It became very obvious that vehicle accident statistics and car safety test results dictated public view and opinion on how safe particular motor vehicles were. As a result, it became common practice for all manufacturers to have cars roll off the production floor with airbags as standard items of safety.

Because car safety testing has not only become more stringent and revealing for all vehicle manufacturers, it has become the interest of the manufacturer to design and build vehicles which meet high levels of safety. Front, curtain and side bags are becoming more and more common in new vehicles – some even have knee bags.

These days, if you were a car manufacturer that consistently produced a car that performed poorly in crash tests, without a doubt, you would build up a negative reputation of yourself inside the public’s mind. This, of course, has a huge bearing on how well you, as a manufacturer, would sell your product – particularly when the product is labelled as being of a poor safety standard.

Because the public demands safe vehicles, and competition is great between vehicle manufacturers, the technological advancement in airbag design and function over the last decade has been enormous. We are now witnessing cars and 4X4s with four, six and up to ten airbags as standard. With such an array of safety airbags as standard a number of the airbags can be found residing in the back of the front seats (for rear passengers) and in both the front and rear doors – even inside the pillar frames. Sidebags can be seen everywhere.We hope that helps answer the question ‘What is What is a Sidebag?’!

Back to Car Glossary