The History of Air Bags

Air bags are one of the most important safety innovations to come out of the 20^th century. But did you know that the first airbag wasn’t invented until 1953? After a car accident with his family, a retired industrial engineering technician named John W. Hetrick was inspired to design a “safety cushion” for automobiles. But it wasn’t until a New Jersey mechanical engineer named Allen K. Breed invented a reliable crash sensor in the late 1960s that the modern concept of the airbag was born.