Scrimdods

The auto industry and research and regulatory communities have moved away from their initial view of the airbag as a seat belt replacement, and the bags are now nominally designated as Supplemental Restraint System(SRS) or Supplemental Inflatable Restraints. In 1980, Mercedes-Benz introduced the airbag in Germany, as an option on its high-end S-Class (W126). In the Mercedes system, the sensors would tighten the seat belts, and then deploy the airbag on impact. This integrated the seat belts and airbag into a restraint system, rather than the airbag being considered an alternative to the seat belt. In 1987, the Porsche 944 turbo became the first car in the world to have driver and passenger airbags as standard equipment. The Porsche 944 and 944S had this as an available option. The same year also saw the first airbag in a Japanese car, the Honda Legend.