Airbags suck

[RPM427]

My friend Patrick was driving down 84 a few days ago and hit a puddle of water on the middle of the highway, he hydroplaned to the left and scuffed the center divider. He did almost have complete control as he hit but the airbag went off (damn Hondas) and blew hid hands off the wheel. The wheel turned and he did a 360 and slammed into the opposite guard rail then into the center divider again. He was OK but his new car is completly totaled. He said he would of been able to recover after he intailly hit, and there would have been maybe $500 worth of damage to the fender. Now his car is completley totaled and he has burns on his arms from the airbag.

Who thinks airbags should not be on cars, and who thinks they are a wonderful saftey device?

[Rev]

I think they should be an option at additional cost. That way those who want them can have them.

Rev

[Unit 5302]

I feel airbags are one of the single largest contributors to increasing vehicle and insurance costs.

Manufacturers are constantly crash testing their vehicles, and you'd think if they were worthless, the airbag systems would have been drummed out of cars long ago.

I've seen many schools of thought on how well airbags truely perform. From the NHTSA claiming airbags save like 50,000 lives per second in my home town which has a population of 20,000, to the other end of the spectrum stating airbags have saved maybe 1 life since inception of use.

The latter group was very convincing with their use of math. Side impact airbags are worthless in my opinion. Think about this. If you're hit at 20mph from the side, you've already hit the door before the airbag can fully deploy. 20mph equals about 360" per sec. Or, right around .015 seconds before you hit the door. So, the lovely airbag actually delivers a brutal punch to your body. As you fling into the door, you're met by a rapidly expanding airbag to blast you back the other direction (this is what would be a knockout punch in boxing). I've seen the crash tests affirming the scenerio. Watch how the dummies are flinged back towards the center of the vehicle. I've also seen the crash testing at 35mph showing the airbag deploying in time to "save" the crash dummy before he hits the steering wheel. What happens when the speed is increased to 50mph, and the new safer airbag designs are used? Do you get a crash dummy headbutting a rapidly expanding airbag?

Personally, I've seen some very significant accidents where people without airbags have walked away, and I'm not inclined to believe airbags are the true safety devices they're made out to be.

I would rather not have them in my car, and have it cost $3k less. Interesting, but that would also get rid of the need to track airbag data, and the data logging devices which are definately controversial.

[Crazy Horse GT]

i am going to dis arm my air bag's when i wrecked in jan they never deployed, im glad because my seat belt held me in place, the guy at the body shop told me if both, had deployed it would have destroyed my dash.

[Unit 5302]

It does more than destroy your dash, Marty. Dual airbag deployment creates a giant mess all over the place in the car, takes out the windshield, the dash, the steering wheel cover, and the airbag units themselves, which normally cost well over $1000 each to replace.

Yep. A 5mph bump into something could give you an additional $3k of unnecessary damage real quick.

[Crazy Horse GT]

yeah kell i think i lucked out, because i hit drivers side headlight area first, then it did the total front end nascar slide down the guard rail's, scared the f---- out of me , i think i was doing about 50 mph.

[DAN-MAN]

I guess it depends on what happens when they deploy. I've heard of people being saved by them and being killed by them (basically, them coming back and hitting a person in the face and causing major trauma to the head or something).

I think they should be an option at additional cost. That way those who want them can have them.

I agree. A person should have the choice of not wanting them in their car or not when they buy it. Having them only adds to the cost and complexity of the car. And if they deploy on a small collission, then it costs big bucks to get them fixed (personally, I'd just cut them out).

Daniel.

[mustangII460]

I think they should fill airbags with Jiffy Pop popcorn. Gives me something to snack on waiting for EMS to arrive.

[Rev]

Your just terrible Mustang II 460. I just hope you have some red wine in your squad car to go along with that pop corn.

Rev

[RPM427]

My friend also had cuts all over his face. The passenger side airbag blew the windshield out on his civic and he had pieces of glass in his face from it.

[Dark_5.0]

About a year ago a was driving a 97' F-150 regular cab truck. I was driving to a parts store that was just 5 miles away. I have a bad habbit of not wearing my seatbelt especially when I am not going very far.

I was cruising at 55 mph and noticed a new Tahoe coming towards me in the other lane. I seen that he is slowing down and he turned on his left blinker. Right as I was about to go by him he squeels the tires and pulls right out in front of me. I T-boned the Tahoe and didnt even have a chance to hit the breaks.
I nailed a 4 door Tahoe at 55mph, a split second before impact I thought I am dead. When we hit I felt my body flying towards the dash, I was met half way by an airbag that cushioned the blow dramatically. I had a few burns from the air bag and a bloody nose. I jumped out of the truck to see if the other guy was ok he was out cold. Me and him both walked away with minor injuries.

To give you an idea of the violence of the impact all 4 of the Tahoes tires were knocked of the rims. If you cross your arms across your chest that is how the frame rails looks that were sticking out 4 feet in front of the truck.

I know I should of been wearing my seat belt but I wasnt. There is no doubt in my mind that the airbag saved my life.

JMO.

My daughter in law just recently struck the back end of a women who just stopped for no reason in front of her, she was at a very low speed thank goodness. Man her air bag tore her up. It burned her right arm, and breast really bad, cracked the windshield, she was hurting for quite some time. Her seat belt would have been just fine for this accident. Instead she got all messed up from the air bag. Personally I don't like them.They drive a small truck but still it did much more damage then the wreck itself. My vote is get rid of them....I want to live.Odie

[Unit 5302]

Originally posted by Dark_5.0
... I have a bad habbit of not wearing my seatbelt especially when I am not going very far...

... I nailed a 4 door Tahoe at 55mph, a split second before impact I thought I am dead. When we hit I felt my body flying towards the dash, I was met half way by an airbag that cushioned the blow dramatically. I had a few burns from the air bag and a bloody nose. I jumped out of the truck to see if the other guy was ok he was out cold. Me and him both walked away with minor injuries...


I know I should of been wearing my seat belt but I wasnt. There is no doubt in my mind that the airbag saved my life.

JMO.

Not that I would ever be brutal, but whatever dude Yeah, in this particular case you were being a complete dumbass so the airbag saved you. You're definately correct about it keeping you alive in this incident as you were not wearing your safety belt. So I guess I should have to pay an additional $3000 for my car so I can buy airbags for people who don't feel like buckling up?

I'll tell you about the worst accident I have ever been in. 95 Impala SS vs 88 Mustang LX 4 banger. The Impala hit the front corner of the Mustang travelling at a combined speed of maybe 50mph. The Impala's engine was pushed back, and the Mustang's entire front end was compacted, pushing the K-member back, and jambing the driveshaft into the tailshaft. All 4 people in the Mustang, and the 3 in the Impala walked away.

I guess I just assumed most people were smart enough to fasten the safety belt as they start the car up.

[lx mike]

Why do they have both airbags and safety belts in cars?? If your wearing your belt then why have something thats going to smack you in the face.

[Unit 5302]

The concept is to reduce neck/whiplash type injuries, and slow a persons rapid deceleration in an accident. The seat belt is very unforgiving. It's like bungee jumping with a rope. The airbag is supposed to be more like a bungee cord, but it just doesn't have time to perform that function IMHO.

[LxMustangRacer]

I thought I was reading on a traffic safety website(school paper) that the airbag is supposed to be aimed more towards the chest than the head. Things like seat placement affect them too, you're supposed to sit as far away from them as possible. Shorter people have to sit closer and get hit harder, hopefully such variables are adressed in future models. Dark 5.0, you do know that airbags are designed to be used in conjunction with seatbelts, not a replacement. A lot of the injuries from airbags are for that exact reason. You're really lucky things played out as they did.

[Unit 5302]

Originally posted by LxMustangRacer
I thought I was reading on a traffic safety website(school paper) that the airbag is supposed to be aimed more towards the chest than the head. Things like seat placement affect them too, you're supposed to sit as far away from them as possible. Shorter people have to sit closer and get hit harder, hopefully such variables are adressed in future models. Dark 5.0, you do know that airbags are designed to be used in conjunction with seatbelts, not a replacement. A lot of the injuries from airbags are for that exact reason. You're really lucky things played out as they did.

The reason you're supposed to sit as far away as possible is for the reason I described above. Say you're in a combined 50mph collison head on. Your body will be travelling towards the steering wheel at right around 900" per sec. A person my height 6'0" should be seated about 24" from the steering wheel. The seat belt should lock within maybe 12" of forward movement, but your head will continue forward after that point. What results is approximately .013 seconds before the seat belt restrains you, and about .027 seconds before you are hurtled into the steering wheel should you not be wearing a seatbelt. More than likely, you're going to meet the airbag. You flinging forward, and the airbag flinging back at you.

[mustangII460]

In school we learned not to sit close, heres why.

When your too close, the bag [hits you], snaping your neck like a X-mas turkey.

Sit far and [you hit] the bag.

LxMustangRacer is right about seat placement, belt and bag used together. Size also.

Manufacturers 1st generation is a "Fits All" thats ok for average size people, but what about my fat butt. Ah, smart bag.

We find alot of people with just the bag, end up in the pedals on front impact. Ofcourse some dont, varitables. Least your not swallowing your teeth.

[Dark_5.0]

Originally posted by Unit 5302
Not that I would ever be brutal, but whatever dude Yeah, in this particular case you were being a complete dumbass so the airbag saved you. You're definately correct about it keeping you alive in this incident as you were not wearing your safety belt. So I guess I should have to pay an additional $3000 for my car so I can buy airbags for people who don't feel like buckling up?

I'll tell you about the worst accident I have ever been in. 95 Impala SS vs 88 Mustang LX 4 banger. The Impala hit the front corner of the Mustang travelling at a combined speed of maybe 50mph. The Impala's engine was pushed back, and the Mustang's entire front end was compacted, pushing the K-member back, and jambing the driveshaft into the tailshaft. All 4 people in the Mustang, and the 3 in the Impala walked away.

I guess I just assumed most people were smart enough to fasten the safety belt as they start the car up.

You cant tell me that you have never driven somewhere and forgot to buckle up. You are too immature to debate with out calling someone names.

I was simply sharing the only experience with airbags that I have.

"Trust me, You dont have the ability to be brutal with me...."

Dumb @ss,

[Unit 5302]

Originally posted by Dark_5.0
You cant tell me that you have never driven somewhere and forgot to buckle up. You are too immature to debate with out calling someone names.

I was simply sharing the only experience with airbags that I have.

"Trust me, You dont have the ability to be brutal with me...."

Dumb @ss,

You didn't forget. You just plain admitted you have a habit of not using it on short trips. Also, before the car is even started most times I have my seat belt on. It's like wearing pants without a belt. Something just doesn't feel right.

You "simply sharing your experience" also contained a personal opinion on the matter. One which was skewed because you didn't feel like putting on a seat belt for short trip. I will say again, I have no desire to pay an additional 2-3k for my car to protect people who are being stupid.

By the way. You were being indisputably stupid by not wearing one. You're seriously off base by telling me I'm just like you and I don't wear my seat belt sometimes. I fail to see how I'm the dumbass here? You're the one who went driving down the highway with no seat belt, rammed some other truck, and nearly killed yourself in the process.