Inflatable safety restraint for vehicle occupant protection

The invention refers to an inflatable safety restraint system for protection of a vehicle occupant (31) from transverse components of crash forces, the system comprising an inflatable cushion (8) deployable to a position between the vehicle occupant (31) and an adjacent internal vehicle surface in the event of a crash situation being detected, wherein the cushion (8) is fixedly attached to a part of the vehicle at at least two spaced portions (35, 4; 13, 23), the inflatable cushion (8) in the deflated state is folded and mounted in a flexible pocket (5), the flexible pocket (5) surrounds at least the central section of the folded cushion (8), and the flexible pocket (5) comprises a line of weakness along which the pocket (5) opens when subjected to forces generated during inflation of the cushion (8) and through which line of weakness the inflating cushion (8) deploys.