I was wondering, when a car equipped with front and side impact airbags is hit from the rear, do the airbags deploy?
Airbags
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The word from the emergency room is: Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. Sometimes they don't deploy when they should. Sometimes they deploy for no reason. I think it's the force of the impact that determines whether air bags deploy or not, and not where the impact is.
As far as what the manufacturer INTENDS for them to do, I believe that depends on the manufacturer. I doubt if anyone would find fault with you for letting your side air bags deploy in a rear-ender, unless that person was REALLY, REALLY nit-picky about details.
As far as what the manufacturer INTENDS for them to do, I believe that depends on the manufacturer. I doubt if anyone would find fault with you for letting your side air bags deploy in a rear-ender, unless that person was REALLY, REALLY nit-picky about details.
I still want to know why my airbags didn't deploy in a frontal collision at 30 mph.
I agree with Scarlett -- there is no definitive yes or no. I'd go ahead and have them deploy. Obviously (to me) it's a crap shoot if they will deploy at all.
I agree with Scarlett -- there is no definitive yes or no. I'd go ahead and have them deploy. Obviously (to me) it's a crap shoot if they will deploy at all.
Wow, so it's kind of a crap shoot then? In that case, if I have a rear ender take place later in this WIP, and the airbags don't go off, I'd be in the realm of possibility ?
*hopes to never experience it in person*
*hopes to never experience it in person*
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Midnight...
In my recent car accident, my brother got extremely upset when the front airbags didn't deploy on a rollover accident. The thing about airbags is that they don't just go off because. They go off when they are necessary.
Cree asked why the airbags didn't go off on a 30mph crash...and the answer is simple...the car programming decided that the forces in the crash weren't sufficient to deploy at that time. Just as in my crash the front airbags didn't deploy because the force of the crash wasn't coming from the front.
Frontal airbags were designed to help cushion the force of the impact and keep people from being thrown the windshield. Side impact airbags were designed to cushion the force of an impact from the side and to help keep the people from being thrown out of the car.
So it would seem that the best thought (after attempting to do some research on rear end collisions) has to do with how far forward the car has moved and the force of impact. Mostly, though, other factors are supposed to protect passangers from rear end collisions. So it'll depend on what the sensors for the airbags actually sense.
Rabe...
In my recent car accident, my brother got extremely upset when the front airbags didn't deploy on a rollover accident. The thing about airbags is that they don't just go off because. They go off when they are necessary.
Cree asked why the airbags didn't go off on a 30mph crash...and the answer is simple...the car programming decided that the forces in the crash weren't sufficient to deploy at that time. Just as in my crash the front airbags didn't deploy because the force of the crash wasn't coming from the front.
Frontal airbags were designed to help cushion the force of the impact and keep people from being thrown the windshield. Side impact airbags were designed to cushion the force of an impact from the side and to help keep the people from being thrown out of the car.
So it would seem that the best thought (after attempting to do some research on rear end collisions) has to do with how far forward the car has moved and the force of impact. Mostly, though, other factors are supposed to protect passangers from rear end collisions. So it'll depend on what the sensors for the airbags actually sense.
Rabe...
Rabe said:
Um, Rabe -- a neck fracture made me think they were necessary. So maybe your statement that they go off when they are necessary ain't exactly on the mark.
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MidnightMuse said:
The answer is, they shouldn't. But they might. They might at anytime, given that millions of these things are on the road, a number of them installed with accelerometers upside down or reversed, by second shift Friday workers who are anxious to hit the bars, or by first shift Monday workers with a hangover. If you're a novelist, it's your choice. If you're writing non-fiction, don't ask me.
I've been hit from the rear and my bags didn't go off. I have, however, kissed the airbag in a frontal crash, so just let me know if you need the details.
FYI--It tastes and smells really good.
FYI--It tastes and smells really good.
It probably depends on whether or not the crash sensors are triggered. These animations show how the sensors deploy the side and front airbags.
Side airbags
Front airbags and here
Side airbags
Front airbags and here
Yeah, I think all of the above makes the point --- there are built in "triggers" but unless your situation meets a pre-defined set of characteristics (and even if it does), you aren't getting deployment. There's no definitive.
BTW, my little incident happened 7 years ago, the technology is possibly improved, and at the time the ER doc told me that it's possible that it wasn't a total head-on, but just slightly off-center from head-on, and that might have been the reason for no deployment.
That's awfully comforting, I'll tell you, when you are told the trigger mechanisms can be PICKY in their choice of head-on!
BTW, my little incident happened 7 years ago, the technology is possibly improved, and at the time the ER doc told me that it's possible that it wasn't a total head-on, but just slightly off-center from head-on, and that might have been the reason for no deployment.
That's awfully comforting, I'll tell you, when you are told the trigger mechanisms can be PICKY in their choice of head-on!
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I was in a car accident with a huge truck that someone let sit in the road during a rainstorm, with no flashers on to indicate that the car was just sitting. They just sat in the middle of the road. The front of my car was smashsed, and the airbags did not deploy. Oh wait, they did! A few hours AFTER the wreck!
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Julie Worth said:
The hungover Monday morning stuff is a thing of the past on this one. Cars are assembled by robots these days, and most manfacturers only employ non-drinking robots.
Apart from that, the sensor units are designed and bolted in a manner that they only fit in one orientation.
On my car the sensor unit is about the size of a cigarette packet and it sits underneath the back seat, in the middle where there is no passenger. There is a single plug with about ten wires to connect to. The sensor is directional so it only reads impact from the front. An angled impact might set it off if the forward directional component is sufficient.
When the sensor goes off it triggers a small explosive device in the airbag, called a "squib". This explosion releases the inflation gas, which dissapates almost immediately so the bag is only inflated for a second or so.
There are some significant changes happening in airbag technology, especially with how the bags are inflated. Depending on how technical you want to get, it might be worth your while chasing up some auto sites. Autospeed.drive.com.au has lots of current techo articles.
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cree said:
Hey, I didn't program the stupid things! And it could have been faulty programming, sensors or something else.
I've heard of lots of cases where car repair shops are charging to replace/recharge airbag systems from earlier crashes but don't.
Or, the car's programming could have rightfully thought that a 30 mph crash wasn't necessary to deploy the airbag but the person suffering a neck fracture in the crash was susceptible to it in some way. (and don't ask me how because A) I'm not a doctor and B) if I were a doctor, I wasn't the doctor on that case, I'm just brainstorming possibilities and ideas.)
But weird things happen. After all, a person in a multiple rollover vehicle accident that is partially ejected and then has the car sitting ontop of their abdomen *isn't* supposed to be leaving the hospital with having only one major organ affected - and isn't *supposed* to leave the hospital only two weeks after the accident. But sometimes Fate, God or the Universe (or whatever) has other plans and needs to get our attention somehow.
Rabe...
Soccer Mom said:FYI--It tastes and smells really good.
Tell me about it. I got hit so hard that it knocked my contacts out of my eyes. I couldn't get the smell out of my nose for days. *shudder*
Rabe said:
I was 'attacking' your word choice, not your knowledge!
I don't disagree with the post. But people think 30 mph is slow.... It's enough to kill someone. I was a completely healthy woman in my 20s and got me a broke neck. All right, carry on, nothing to see here, just a full recovery (other than that weird Rice Krispies noise when i turn my head)....
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cree said:I was 'attacking' your word choice, not your knowledge!
All right, carry on, nothing to see here, just a full recovery (other than that weird Rice Krispies noise when i turn my head)....
No offense was taken. Just wanted to make sure you didn't.
You say rice krispies when you turn your head. All the time or on occassion? I've had occassional neck popping (snapping and crackling) since a former car accident 8 years ago.
I completely agree that 30mph is still dangerous. Heck, I'd agree a 5mph accident is dangerous. I'm also glad to hear that you've had a full recovery.
Rabe...
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I got t-boned by a truck and the front air bags deployed. It picked up my hand, slammed it into my head and knocked me unconscious. I broke 5 vertebra in my neck and had a moderate closed head injury. BUT, if it hadn't been for the airbags I would have eaten the dash...with my face.
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Soccer Mom said:FYI--It tastes and smells really good.
Not to hijack the thread but what did it smell like, well at least as best as you can describe it? I've got a WIP that has my two MC's go into a sideways slide, catch a tree with the front driver's fender and they both get a faceful of airbag.
In America, people don't usually wear seat belts, right? Here in Australia, it's the law to wear it. But over there, you don't have to wear it, so many people don't.threedogpeople said:
But the seat belt is way safer than an airbag.
Spirit_Fire said:In America, people don't usually wear seat belts, right? Here in Australia, it's the law to wear it. But over there, you don't have to wear it, so many people don't.
But the seat belt is way safer than an airbag.
People usually do, in America.
Each state has its own law. Nearly all states require front seat passengers to wear a seat belt.
So yeah, we have laws, too.
In Washington state, where I live, it's the law to wear seatbelts. They're very agressive about giving tickets ($101.00) to anyone found not wearing one.
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MidnightMuse said:
Missouri has strict state laws about wearing seat belts and have for a number of years. In fact, most people I know - including myself - do wear seat belts. We also have strict car seat laws that are enforced. I travel quite a bit and I really can't think of any state I've been to in recent years that did not have a seat belt law in effect.
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