A car is fitted with an airbag which will inflate if the car stops very suddenly - Edexcel - A-Level Physics - Question 7 - 2023 - Paper 1

When the airbag inflates, it extends the time taken for the driver to come to a stop in the event of a sudden halt. By increasing the duration of the deceleration, the airbag helps to reduce the force experienced by the driver according to the impulse-momentum theorem, which states:

$ext{Impulse} = ext{Change in Momentum} = ext{Force} imes ext{Time}$

By extending the time of the collision, the airbag effectively lowers the average force experienced, thereby focusing on increasing the time the driver takes to stop.