Vehicle occupants protection system

A vehicle occupants protection system wherein a front pillar garnish (36) is mounted on a passenger compartment side of a front pillar (32) which supports a roof with a predetermined amount of space being maintained therebetween for accommodating a side airbag (25), as well as a small impact absorbing member (70) for absorbing an impact of such a small magnitude that the side airbag (25) remains unopened, whereby the side airbag (25) is inflated by gas generated when an impact of a predetermined magnitude or more is applied to a side of a vehicle so as to expand into a passenger compartment while forcibly opening one end portion (66) of the front pillar garnish. Of positions of a bottom surface of the small impact absorbing member (70), not a position (76) which is located closer to the side airbag (25) but a position (77) which is located farther away from the side airbag (25) is attached (71,75) to the front pillar garnish (36).