What is one main danger of seat belt pretensioners?

The main danger of seat belt pretensioners lies in the activation of the pyrotechnic device. Pretensioners are safety mechanisms designed to tighten seat belts in the event of a collision, ensuring that occupants are securely held in their seats at the moment of impact. The activation mechanism usually involves a small pyrotechnic charge, which can deploy very rapidly.

The concern here is that if the pretensioner is inadvertently activated, or if someone is too close to the device when it deploys, the force of the deploying mechanism can cause injury due to its high-speed activation and the explosive nature of the pyrotechnic charge. Understanding this risk is crucial for vehicle rescue technicians, as they need to handle situations involving deployed or undamaged pretensioners carefully to avoid accidental injuries during rescue operations.