Responsible for saving tens of thousands of lives every year ever, airbags are undoubtedly a tenet of road safety today. From spacious and practical minivans to spine-tingling sports cars, nearly every car on the road nowadays has a bag and a set of canisters waiting to be deployed in case an accident occurs.
As manufacturers continue to refine the safety measures of their vehicles and give drivers features that they can easily rely on for greater levels of safety on the road, airbags go through their fair share of developments too. However, beyond all the good points and noteworthy changes that have taken place over the past few years, there’s one particular pitfall of the safety features in question to be especially mindful of: frauds.
First things first—what are airbags, and how do they work?
When it comes to fighting the problem of airbag fraud, it’s essential to first understand what these key components are and how they work in the first place.
The way an airbag system works is pretty simple: these features are built in a way wherein bags are puffed up quickly with air (hence, the name) to protect the human body in the event of an accident. How this particular feature achieves such a protective effect is by using air and special-grade textiles to act as a sort of “pillow” that softens the blow that one may experience as a result of the physics involved in an accident.
In the case of an accident, the “brains” of an airbag initiate the arson of a solid fuel charge—burning at a tremendous rate of as low as 30 milliseconds to create the required amount of gas needed to fill the whole “sac” itself. Once deployed at a lightning-quick rate, the fixture in question ends up softening by letting gas go through special holes!
What is airbag fraud?
Today, one of the most prominent issues that stand in the world of automotive SRSs is the ever-growing airbag fraud crisis that continues to affect up to thousands of drivers per year.
It saw its beginnings when insurance companies began to warn policyholders and drivers that automobile repair shops often cheat when replacing automotive airbags. Cheating, in this context, refers to practices where scrupulous fraudsters purchase a used airbag for a mere fraction of the acquisition price that they’d have to pay if you have 500 to 600 dollars of damage.
What makes it dangerous?
Although you may believe that there’s nothing wrong with getting a used airbag in your steering wheel because they all look and work the same, the truth will surprise you.
You see, used airbags (and airbag fraud itself) are considered critical safety issues because they don’t fit the standard of dependability in the way that brand new pieces do—which is why insurance companies give so much for them! Unfortunately, shops tend to stick with these subpar replacements because it allows them to keep a take-home of 400 to 500 dollars since they only pay 100 for the “replacement.”
For victims of airbag fraud, there is no such thing as winning because having such fixtures placed in a car merits a high level of risk, as there’s no way to determine the quality and durability of an airbag. Once a deployment-worthy impact occurs, in fact, the kind of effect that cars that were fitted with subpar options is similar to not having an airbag at all!
How can you protect yourself from being a victim of airbag fraud?
When it comes to ensuring that you don’t end up being a victim of airbag fraud, a surefire method is to choose a service provider that is trustworthy and has a proven track record. By leaving your bad replacement or servicing-related needs with Safety Restore, for instance, you’ll be able to ensure that you don’t end up with fake or defective bags in your ride!
Conclusion
Among the different problems that the average vehicle owner faces today, one of the most prominent and life-threatening ones by far is the rising issue of airbag fraud. By taking this guide into consideration, you’ll be able to ensure that you can protect yourself as best as possible from the risk of experiencing the problem in question at any given point!
Safety Restore is an after-accident repair company, providing various high-quality products and services to help individuals restore their vehicles. If you need an SRS airbag module reset service in Westfield, MA, to handle the concern that’s causing your SRS light to come on, get in touch with us today to see how we can help!