Door mounted air bag assembly

A vehicle airbag restraint system for vehicles has an inflatable airbag which is deployed in its inflated protective position between a seated occupant and a large vehicle component. The front side of the airbag is guided during the inflating process by a supporting mating surface of the vehicle component, which extends in the vertical and horizontal directions of the vehicle. In its collapsed inoperative position the airbag is arranged at a small distance from the mating surface of the vehicle component, to the side of the seating space, at the level of the mating surface, and can be inflated transversely with respect to the direction of travel of the vehicle, along the mating surface into its deployed protective position.