Does an Airbag hurt?

Question

I haven't ever been in an accident in which the airbag deploys, and I am terrified to be.

I know the whole yada-yada the airbag saves lives, well that's obvious. I want to know If the airbag really hurts when you hit it. I have heard that you are in so much shock that you don't really notice it until the next day, but I am mondo confused.

Answer 1

Anyone who tells you the airbag doesn't hurt at all has never been in a serious accident. I was in a head-on collision (guy came around a curve on the wrong side of the road) last summer. I'm sure the airbag saved my life. It DID hurt, but not terribly. I had no bruises or marks on my face the next day, but at the time of the accident, my face stung quite a bit and was fairly numb - so I was afraid to open my eyes initially to check any facial damage (there was none). The scariest thing was all the powder from inside the bag. I'd never been told about that, so I thought it was smoke and that my car was on fire :-) Don't fear the airbag. Fear being in an accident without one!

Answer 2

Airbags hurt far less than smashing your face through the window, or slamming into the steering wheel... or slamming into a padded steering wheel, or slamming directly against the seatbelt. Of all the choices of things to slam into in an accident, I'd pick the airbag.

I didn't even hit mine when they deployed, because my long legs smashed against the underside of the console. They're very soft, but because they open so fast, you can get "bag burn" from hitting them, like rug burn, or grass burn. Basically, it's a skinned nose, and possibly arms (I didn't notice the bag had skinned my arms until two days later) doesn't hurt much.

Some of the bags use an actual explosive to deploy, so you could smell smoke, but most of them use CO2, which is odorless.

The passenger side airbag usually has a flip up lid, which will break the front window, and both of them have plastic wrappers that fly everywhere when they deploy. Most airbags are worth more to replace than the value of the car by the time you get into an accident. I've always wondered about how a part on a car can cost more than the car itself...

Answer 3

Are you hoping to be on Jackass? Or the Darwin Awards? No, airbags are not your sweet mother holding you back when she hits the brakes hard. Airbags are a pillow exploding in your face at 200mph, driven by the equivalent of a shotgun blast. They will DEFINITELY injure you even if you're sitting properly. They will certainly break arms, dislocate shoulders etc if you are not positioned right. I would expect long-term or permanent disability from the stunt you propose. The concept is that you'll be injured less than if the airbag didn't deploy, especially if you are an idiot and didn't have your seatbelt on. Americans have a particular fondness for not wearing their seatbelt, so airbags in American cars pack a lot more punch than airbags in European cars. In my amateur opinion you are better off with a racing-quality seat belt. NASCAR doesn't use airbags.

Answer 4

Well, when I was in a wreck when I hit a deer, the airbag deployed. It hurt a bit, but way less than it would have hurt if I had hit my head on the steering wheel or windshield. The thing is when it goes off it sprays out a hot powder that burns and makes it hard to see or breath. I was choking bad and quickly got my window rolled down. My eyes were burning from it and my throat burned.

On a side note, those electric cars should not be sold to anyone! My brother is a firefighter and says that if a person gets it a wreck in one of those and needs the jaws of life, they can't use it on them. There's electric current flowwing through the entire car so it would elecricute the firefighter. Also, it would be even worse if the car was in water. Or the person inside could get electricuted from jus wrecking the car. It's a horrible car. I wish car manufactorers would come up with something safer for people.

Answer 5

Yes! Not only do they hurt, but they burn, too! I had all of the hair burned off of my arm from an airbag. Considering the alternative though, it was a small price to pay! I do know someone who got a broken nose from an airbag - so it's really not an 'open fact' that airbags do not hurt.

Answer 6

Of course it's going to hurt, but think of what you would hit if cars didn't have them? The steering wheel! The dashboard! The windscreen! I'd take the airbag any day! They have to inflate fast as they are designed to stop someone who is unrestrained from flying forward in a smash. It's always best to wear your seatbelt to get the best benefit from an airbag, but they are also designed to stop an unrestrained occupant from being ejected through the windscreen or colliding with the interior of the car. Think of the uproar when Britney nursed her baby in her lap as she drove. If she smashed, the child would have died due to the force of the airbag. They do hurt, but the alternatives hurt much much more

Answer 7

i have been in a few wrecks the airbags pop so fast you dont really have time to the that you are hurting. everytime the airbags went off the first thing that went through my mind is to get out of the vehicle because the airbags stink like hell but to answer your quistion the only thing that hurt me when the airbag went off once was my wrist (but that was because i was trying to grab onto the wheel when it did)

Answer 8

Yes, airbags hurt because they pop out just as fast as a bullet does from a gun and if you are holding the steering wheel properly both of your forearms will get bad burns. And didn't you hear about the baby who was decapitated because the mother put the child seat in the front passenger side of the car?

Answer 9

An airbag inflates and deflates in a moment. Which would you rather feel, getting smacked in the face really hard with a firm pillow or a steel dashboard? Worry more about your driving, stay off the cell phone, and pay attention.

Answer 10

An air bag deployes to stop forward motion of your upper body during a front impact. It will hurt like getting punched in the face. I have seen many people who have been hit by them. I have been a fire fighter for 12 years. They deflate in about 1 to 2 sec. from deployment, because they have holes in the back side of them. It will happen so fast you won't know it happened until its over. You will be sore from it and possibly have some skin abrasions on your arms and face due to the speed of the air bag moving across your skin, but don't be scared. They are there to help.