Because of much misunderstanding about airbags, people often underestimate the force of their deployment. A car crash happens quickly and is over after about 200 milliseconds. Because an airbag must fully deploy before the driver’s face reaches it, it has about 25 milliseconds to do its job. Airbags therefore, must use a fast chemical reaction, (i.e. an explosion) for inflation. People have said that getting hit by an airbag is like getting struck by a baseball bat. That’s an accurate description given that airbags have broken bones in the face.