What You Need to Know about the Seatbelt Pretensioner
Posted by Artem Martynyuk on
Although there is a much higher chance of you dying of heart disease than in a car accident, this does not mean you should ignore car safety when you hit the road. A chance is still a chance, and you never know what might happen next. You can follow all the road rules and regulations, but there is no accounting for other drivers.
That being said, when you drive a car, one of the most important safety tools is the seatbelt. Its job is to hold you in place during an accident, significantly reducing the risk of injuries. It can even prevent death in many cases.
However, how does a seatbelt actually know when to hold you in place and when to give slack so that you can pull it? That is where the seatbelt pretensioner comes in.
What is a seatbelt pretensioner?
A seatbelt pretensioner is the part of the seatbelt system whose job is to lock the seatbelt in place when an accident occurs, holding seatbelt wearers in place to reduce the risk of injuries or worse.
How does the seatbelt pretensioner work?
The seatbelt pretensioner depends on what type of pretensioner is in place. There are three different types of seatbelt pretensioners: the mechanical pretensioner, the electric pretensioner, and the pyrotechnic pretensioner.
The mechanical pretensioner works by combining an inertial wheel and a pendulum that locks the seatbelt when it experiences sudden deceleration.
The second type is the electric pretensioner. Rather than having a pendulum, an electrical sensor detects whether or not there is sudden deceleration. This sensor can also be connected to other systems that can detect accidents to lock the belt even if the original sensor does not detect sudden deceleration. This prevents issues like the seatbelt randomly locking, which many drivers experience when pulling their belts.
The third type of pretensioner is the pyrotechnic pretensioner, where the seatbelt not only locks but tightens during an accident to minimize movement. Once used, it must be replaced.
Where is the seatbelt pretensioner use?
Although these pretensioners are commonly used in cars and small trucks, they are not the only vehicles into which they are built. One of its earliest concepts was used in military jets. The design included a gas-powered explosive device that held the pilots in place should they need to eject out of the airplane.
Of course, this is not used in cars because nobody needs to eject from vehicles. However, the concept remains, and the seatbelts of modern cars today are built with pretensioners to keep us as safe as possible in the event of an accident.
Conclusion
Accident are never fun. Not only can it end up incredibly costly, but injuries and death may occur to make the situation even worse. For the sake of your safety and everyone else's, wear a seatbelt. You never know when you might accidentally drive right into another car or get hit by one. When you do, the seatbelt to give you the best chances of getting out of your car unscathed or, at the very least, alive and breathing.
Repair My SRS is an accident restoration company offering resets for SRS airbag modules, seatbelts repairs for tensioners, and more to help drivers maintain a safe vehicle to drive in. If you need seatbelt repair services in Westfield, reach out to us!