what are your thoughts on airbags?

[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]

Originally Posted by bubba428

Air bags are for sissies...

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

[Teds89IROC]

Originally Posted by Frosty

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]

Originally Posted by Frosty

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

Saying to not crash is like telling you not to be a toolbag.

[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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by BonzoHansen

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

actually induces thought too

[NightRydaSS]

Originally Posted by 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

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 )

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

[baddest434]

Originally Posted by Frosty

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

Saying to not crash is like telling you not to be a toolbag.

good one

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

[trashman01]

tell me again air bags dont save lives

[Knipps]

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

[Blacdout96]

Originally Posted by 88ta5spd

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?