what are your thoughts on airbags?

[qwikz28]

my buddy got into a minor car accident yesterday. he is ok but his arms are burned up pretty bad from the airbags. he asked me this: "if a seatbelt stops you and holds you in place, what does an airbag do? cushion your head? jake- you where glasses, wouldn't that shove your glasses into your eyes or just burn your face off?" i had no response. does anyone have a first hand experience with air bags or know alot about this?

[Knipps]

Air bags supplement the safety belt by reducing the chance that the occupant's head and upper body will strike some part of the vehicle's interior. They also help reduce the risk of serious injury by distributing crash forces more evenly across the occupant's body.

there's talk about how little lives they save but it's mainly to distribute weight and momentum to prevent serious injury

Injuries such as abrasion of the skin, hearing damage (from the sound during deployment), head injuries, eye damage for spectacle wearers and breaking the nose, fingers, hands or arms can occur as the airbag deploys.

In 1990, the first automotive fatality attributed to an airbag was reported, with deaths peaking in 1997 at 53 in the United States. TRW produced the first gas-inflated airbag in 1994, with sensors and low-inflation-force bags becoming common soon afterwards. Dual-depth airbags appeared on passenger cars in 2005. By that time, deaths related to airbags had declined, with no adults deaths and 2 child deaths attributed to airbags that year. Injuries remain fairly common in accidents with an airbag deployment.

i haven't had much experience with them but i find it hard to believe someone would say they're more harm than good..

[Noodles]

my buddies 87 BMW 3 series car got demolished front on with me and him in it.. think i showed you the pics.. car is totalled

air bags didnt deploy..

both had seatbelts on

we got out FINE, not even bruising.

[Noodles]

^^ if they did, i wouldve been hospitalized.. i got surgery on my mouth and the wounds arent fully healed yet..

wouldve opened up

so yeah more harm

[Knipps]

^^ if they did, i wouldve been hospitalized.. i got surgery on my mouth and the wounds arent fully healed yet..

wouldve opened up

so yeah more harm

i'm just saying in general where someone would prefer to not have them in their car at all

edit:// looking at your pic, the accident didn't look severe enough to set the airbag off

[Little G]

I "removed" all doubt from the situation.

g

[GP99GT]

if they didnt work better than seatbelts, they wouldnt be in cars today

[ryanfx]

my friend got her thumb ripped off from an airbag that was dangling from a piece of flesh... they had to sew it back on.

[wrong generation]

i wish my car had airbags only because id have $200 on my car insurance but if i had an air bag id disconnect it so that it wouldnt deploy

[maroman88]

air bags suck, my dads 97 monte was totaled because they were so much to replace. i hit a bmw 5 series head on both going about 25-30mph, it was an older 5 series and his didnt deploy and the ones in my monte did, he had way more exterior damage then the monte did. i wasnt wearing my seatbelt and i had no injuries from the air bag. the bag has been removed from my 91 Z28. personally i would take them outa all my cars if they had them, or once deployed i would leave them out if i fixed the car

[bubba428]

Air bags are for sissies...I don't need to get punched in the face, I just crashed my car isn't that bad enough

[NJSPEEDER]

air bags are theoretically a good idea, cushion the head and uper torso from the impact of an accident. the problem is that most people do not put their seat in a proper spot or hold the wheel correctly, so the real world effect is often minimized.
i know people who would have been toast without them and i know people who got hurt by them, truth is that no safety measure is perfect, just look at the number of broken ribs seats belts have rewarded people with from improper use or odd impact angles.
if your daily driver has air bags, leave them in. i woudl rather break my nose and get a skin burn from a safety pillow than find out what my steering wheel tastes like.

[V]

look at it this way, how many of you wear your seatbelts every time you go out driving? now if you happen to crash then, or some other person, you cant control, crashes into you. that bag is the savior between survival and trying to live with a steering column as a spine.

[IROCdan330]

air bags are theoretically a good idea, cushion the head and uper torso from the impact of an accident. the problem is that most people do not put their seat in a proper spot or hold the wheel correctly, so the real world effect is often minimized

mercedes has an option called pre-safe. with this option, if the various sensors in the vehicle feel a crash is iminent, it will move the seat into an "optimum" position for the occupant's weight. it will also close the windows/sunroof, tension the seatbelts, and prepare the ETRs to fire, but thats not airbags...

airbags are used to supplement the effectiveness of a seatbelt. pretty much they are meant to cushion the driver who is still going the direction and speed of the vehicle all while the belt is holding them back...so like tim said they dont taste the steering wheel or dash. now a days, most vehicles have 2 stage airbags, each stage running on their own squib, and depending on the severity of the crash will fire accordingly. the cool stuff now is beginning to be in the seatbelts, when the ETRs fire to pull the occupant back into the seat following airbag deployment.

In a nutshell, you arent supposed to come into contact with the airbag while its exploding, you are supposed to come into contact with it post-explosion, hitting a cushion. most people dont seem to be that lucky.

[jims69camaro]

Air bags are for sissies...I don't need to get punched in the face, I just crashed my car isn't that bad enough

that's exactly what it feels like, too. i had my one and only accident in the corsica (RIP) and the driver's airbag went off. i had my coffee cup ripped out of my hand and hot coffee all down my leg. i felt like i had just been punched in the face by a heavyweight boxer. all it did was piss me off. if i get a car that has the driver airbag in it, i think i will replace the steering wheel with one of those from Grant. neither the '69 nor the '87 have airbags - just the way i like it.

as for them saving more lives being the reason why they are in the car, i would argue that point. not everything in a car is there to save your life in an accident. why would an airbag be any different? i look at it the same as i do a cupholder - one of those recent advances in vehicle design, but NOT necessary in the least.

[jims69camaro]

look at it this way, how many of you wear your seatbelts every time you go out driving? now if you happen to crash then, or some other person, you cant control, crashes into you. that bag is the savior between survival and trying to live with a steering column as a spine.

since i got three seatbelts tickets in one week, i wear my seatbelt everytime i get in the car - whether i am driving or riding. i do it as a reflex now, i don't even think about it.

[BonzoHansen]

look at it this way, how many of you wear your seatbelts every time you go out driving? I do.

I'd rather have an air bag then not, in almost all cases. Newer bags have improved technology that adjusts the release rate and such. And as mentioned, I do not want to taste the wheel. Did you ever see the cockpit picture of Earnhardt's car from Daytona? The wheel was mangled & blody. And he had a cage, a (poorly installed, it seems) harness, and a helmet (subbornly, an open face one).

Most people don't care about safety until after the accident. Like the bike guys who don't wear helmets until they get in accidents, then they do, like Gary Buesey (sp?). Or the guys who wear the little tiny helmets. Look at j0n's pics & story. Imagine if he were wearing one of those little skull helmets. We might all be wearing black suits today if he were. But I guess that is their 'right to choose'. :-?

I still think seat belts> ABS > air bags, but air bags have their place. If insurance companies give discounts, that means their massive stockpile of data shows clear advantage.

[Savage_Messiah]

my buddy got into a minor car accident yesterday. he is ok but his arms are burned up pretty bad from the airbags. he asked me this: "if a seatbelt stops you and holds you in place, what does an airbag do? cushion your head? jake- you where glasses, wouldn't that shove your glasses into your eyes or just burn your face off?" i had no response. does anyone have a first hand experience with air bags or know alot about this?


when I crashed the camaro, the seatbelt held me fine, I didn't move. The airbags blacked me out, gave me a rash, and made me have to replace the dash, windshield and driver's airbag

[BonzoHansen]

when I crashed the camaro, the seatbelt held me fine, I didn't move. The airbags blacked me out, gave me a rash, and made me have to replace the dash, windshield and driver's airbag

So I assume you hit the airbag? If so, how do you know the belt held you fine?

[1_Hot_SOM_WS6]

I guess they are a good idea. But....they scare the hell out of me - theres just something about knowing that something is going to come out and pretty much smash u in the face that makes me a little nervous. Plus all the stories you hear from various people about the damages that were caused by the airbags. But there again there are many stories on how they saved someones life.

[PBodyGT87]

I have a car with (the 94 Galant) and without (the 87 Fiero) airbags.

The problem is I haven't been in an accident with the Galant, however, it has been in several accidents before (previous owner) and the SRS light is always on. So, being that I don't fail inspection with an error in the secondary restraint system, I figure I don't need them, however I'm not even sure they will deploy should I get in an accident.

I've been in two accidents with the fiero, and in both the seatbelt certainly helped me from eating the steering wheel. It caught me like I never even moved. They weren't terribly serious accidents, however I was thankful for my seatbelt, and I always wear it, no matter what.

I don't think you need airbags, but theoretically, if they deploy before you hit it, I'd say that's a mighty fine cushion.

[Wasted Youth]

I got hit in a few of my cars and the airbag never deployed luckily...I don't care for them personally but seats now have load sensors that work similar to a knock sensor that the heavier you are the less resistance that goes through the sensor letting the pcm or module depending on vehicle know how hard or fast the airbag should come out...well thought out idea but if the hands arent 10'o clock and 2, you could lose an arm or if you sit too close to the wheel a blast in the face...

[BonzoHansen]

How would you lose an arm? Do you drive with your arms in an X? LOL

I guess the theory is they only deploy in certain situations, over a certain MPH, and at certain angles. So, barring technical issues, for a low MPH hit, they should not launch. Now if I get into head on at 65 MPH and I get some bag burns over eating the wheel, I’ll take the lesser of two evils. Burns heal better then brains.

Now they have all sorts of bags, side curtain, etc. And they do not all employ for any event. The computers calculate angles, speed, etc. The side ones are supposed to be very effective in rollovers & t-bones.

I wouldn’t lose sleep not having them, but if they are there it is good to me. I wouldn’t remove them anymore then I would remove belts or ABS. I also would not try to retro fit ABS or airbags.

Liz, I do think that means the SRS system is DOA. I might guess it was not repaired properly by whatever shop repaired it.

[V]

my friend was driving with his right hand at 12 o'clock when he crashed, bag blew and just burnt the underside of his arm, not even enough to require a bandage or any real treatment. no big deal

[Savage_Messiah]

look at it this way, how many of you wear your seatbelts every time you go out driving?
i do

So I assume you hit the airbag? If so, how do you know the belt held you fine?
belt locked, my back never left contact with the seatback, and i could feel the shoulder belt gripping me... the bag hit me

[iamsickofitall]

after this weekend, i decided that i'm not a fan of airbags. my new truck has airbags that will cover the entire cockpit area if a sensor trips, which can be a real hazard.

the reason i say i'm not a fan is because my friend demolished a deer head on in his 1992 F250 right in front of my truck. if i were the lead car, i would have driven through the thing and then been blinded by my airbags doing 70 mph on route 80. lucky for us his steel bumper took all the impact and exploded the buck with little damage.

IMO airbags are only good if you hit something that is going to bring you to a complete stop upon impact.

[V]

well, the bags do not stay inflated for any real period of time, they empty out almost instantly, quicker than you can even notice.

[Squirrel]

well i have first hand experience...from what the medics told me when i totaled my car is that the airbags deploy before the seatbelt locks, had the airbag not deployed or if i didnt have them i wouldnt be as gorgeous as i am today, probably still good looking, but not gorgeous...and the airbag did no damage whatsoever to me besides a scuff on my forearm, and if anyone has driven with me knows how ridiculously close i sat to the wheel in the TA

[maroman88]

now those dam side curtains that only go off if t- boned cause a real problem for us firefighters that then have to be aware of where we can and cant cut if there are undeployed air bags in the ceiling or b-post, if its got good front end damage and the fender is pushed back holding the door shut...

[Frosty]

Any safety issue can save lives and help take lives. I know plenty of people that would've died had they been wearing their seatbelt. Should they be take out of cars? Nothing is 100%, nothing is perfect and nothing is safe from failure. Someone can always come up with a scenario for where :insert item here: caused more damage OR would've saved a life.

I see this crap every day and air bags do more good than harm in the grand scheme of things.

[Frosty]

Air bags are for sissies...

Wow.....just wow....

[Teds89IROC]

I see this crap every day and air bags do more good than harm in the grand scheme of things.

truth! The iroc didn't come with them so I don't have them there but any car that I get or have with them (T-bird) stays

[bubba428]

Wow.....just wow....

don't crash...problem solved....

[Frosty]

Right, because you can account for every person's whereabouts on the road at all times :rolleyes:

Saying to not crash is like telling you not to be a toolbag. :rofl:;)

[Blacdout96]

I dont like airbags. I never had one go off on me, but my shop teacher once showed us what they can do. we had an old cavalier wiht a dummy inside, and had a cigareetei n his mouth, well after much wire messing ti deployed,. and deployed so hard, the cigarette was knocked out of the mouth and was never found to this day!! when I crashed my camaro, the airbags didnt deploy cause the tree rubbed right up against the rail of the car and the sensor, so it didnt deploy, but sheared all my wires up front. If it wasent for the fact my insurance company said they would not cover anyhting if I tampered with any ofthe safety restraints, id have that one steerting wheel ive been dying to put in for 3 years now lol.

[PolarBear]

The problem with seatbelts and airbags is that seatbelts in regular cars are really BS. 3 Point seat bealts are meant to hold you in the car but only do a mediocre job of holding you in the seat and in place. Like someone else said the airbag is a supplemental to the other safety measures in the car already. Honestly I HATE seatbelts and think you should still be allowed a choice whether or not you wear them. If the government REALLY cared for your safety they would mandate a seatbelt that would hold the passengers in place better, i.e. 4 or 5 point belts, properly worn. The need for an airbag would be greatly reduced if this were to happen. But the problem there is that if vehicle manufacturers started putting them in cars people would probably not wear them.
Last time I read the number one cause of accidents was food or drink in the car, not cell phones (still a distraction though). If people payed more attention while driving I think there would be a lot less accidents. A motor vehicle in many cases can be a deadly weapon and there should be a lot more restrictions for drivers, like rigorous driving exams, better seatbelts that really restrict your movement in the car. If you are moving there really is no need to move.
I only wear my seatbelt so I dont get ticketed. Insurance is a scam and I dont want to give them any more of my money.
The world IS full of stupid people.

[Savage_Messiah]

I dont like airbags. I never had one go off on me, but my shop teacher once showed us what they can do. we had an old cavalier wiht a dummy inside, and had a cigareetei n his mouth, well after much wire messing ti deployed,. and deployed so hard, the cigarette was knocked out of the mouth and was never found to this day!! when I crashed my camaro, the airbags didnt deploy cause the tree rubbed right up against the rail of the car and the sensor, so it didnt deploy, but sheared all my wires up front. If it wasent for the fact my insurance company said they would not cover anyhting if I tampered with any ofthe safety restraints, id have that one steerting wheel ive been dying to put in for 3 years now lol.

heh heh... still have an airbag discount on mine

[BonzoHansen]

Problem with harnesses is you need much better rollover protection. That would be too much weight too high up, since it would have to be part of the roof assembly – and a raised CG would increase the likelihood of rollovers. Ha ha.

If you are held in your seat like race driver, you need cage-like performance w/o an actual cage so passengers don’t crush their skulls on it (and we won’t talk head & neck issues). The 3 point actually allows you to move with the car and away form the roof in event of a rollover. Or so smart people have told me.

[PolarBear]

Problem with harnesses is you need much better rollover protection. That would be too much weight too high up, since it would have to be part of the roof assembly – and a raised CG would increase the likelihood of rollovers. Ha ha.

If you are held in your seat like race driver, you need cage-like performance w/o an actual cage so passengers don’t crush their skulls on it (and we won’t talk head & neck issues). The 3 point actually allows you to move with the car and away form the roof in event of a rollover. Or so smart people have told me.

Well if the seat incorporated a locking mechanism and a full heavy frame you could eliminate the need for a cage. Some seats already have the upper retractor in the shoulder area already, mostly in trucks I think.
I cant argue with what you are saying about moving away from the roof, but if the vehicle is overturning I would think you are going to be moving towards the roof or the direction of inertia. And I am not saying with a 4 point system you have to be completely strapped into the seat like a race car, the shoulder harnesses would not need to be super tight, just worn properly as with any other seat belt.
I guess my overall point was that 3 point belts are a compromise but IMO there is too much movement available to the driver in an accident.

[BonzoHansen]

My head hurts.

[PolarBear]

Because of your 15" wheels?

yea! my alignment is done!

[Knipps]

My head hurts.

that's a lot of writing compared to most of the posts on here that are just a few words or a single smiley :lol:

actually induces thought too

[NightRydaSS]

air bags suck, my dads 97 monte was totaled because they were so much to replace. i hit a bmw 5 series head on both going about 25-30mph, it was an older 5 series and his didnt deploy and the ones in my monte did, he had way more exterior damage then the monte did. i wasnt wearing my seatbelt and i had no injuries from the air bag. the bag has been removed from my 91 Z28. personally i would take them outa all my cars if they had them, or once deployed i would leave them out if i fixed the car

if YOU fix the car, you can, but the ins company can deny your claim if they find out that the car had airbags in it and you uninstalled/unhooked them. A body shop can lose their license and/or get a HUGE fine of they fix a car w/o re-installing the air bags (my cousin tried that when his g/f rear ended some yuppi who decided last minute to pull into the Dunkin Donuts parking lot to get his morning latte'). They totalled her car b/c the airbags alone cost $3K.

My boy was also in a accident a couple days ago in his maxima. He hit the guardrail at around 50 and his A/B's went off...broke his nose ...but he is ok.

i dunno, after 5 yrs, ur car is worth crap to the ins company regardless of what it is worth to you,that is why im in such a rush to buy a beater and get my SS of the road as a DD. Other ppl on the road just dont care about you property, they just assume the ins company will take care of you, and they dont (R.I.P '90 GTA :cry: )

Id rather have my head hit a "200 mph pillow" then hit glass.

[baddest434]

Right, because you can account for every person's whereabouts on the road at all times :rolleyes:

Saying to not crash is like telling you not to be a toolbag. :rofl:;)

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: good one

i got no issues w/airbags anything that could help save a life during a crash works for me.

[trashman01]

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa158/ztkirkpatric/0523071822-00.jpg


tell me again air bags dont save lives

[Knipps]

how the hell did you manage to pull that one off?

[Blacdout96]

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa158/ztkirkpatric/0523071822-00.jpg


tell me again air bags dont save lives

Psh, itll buff out

[trashman01]

that wasnt me, that was some1 else. a honda crossed into his lane, with no time to react

[j0n]

I hit a tree head-on at 80mph in my 89 formula with no airbags...didnt have a single cut or bruise(other than seat-belt bruising)

[Blacdout96]

you got pics of the honda?

[trashman01]

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa158/ztkirkpatric/0524071517-04.jpg

[Blacdout96]

OH S#1T!!!! damn he got messed up. howd they make out, any serious injury?

[Knipps]

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa158/ztkirkpatric/0524071517-04.jpg

i have a new wallpaper :lol:

[trashman01]

driver of the truck had a bruised knee, and the honda ppl went to the hospital. all lived i think