My friend was in a car accident yesterday. It was close to head on but at an angle. A car collided with hers and her head hit the steering wheel. Then the airbags went off launching her head and neck violently back into the seat. Not only that but the airbag went up enough that it collided with the windshield and shattered it. Glass didn't go anywhere though because its some kind of safety glass or something. Why did the airbags do this? The car was a Pontiac Solstice.
2007-09-07 18:09:17 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Safety
What in the world? You're telling me the airbag is supposed to wait for her to collide against the steering wheel and get a concussion. Then 5 seconds afterward its supposed to depoly and fling her neck backwards? Do you even know what you're talking about?
2007-09-07 18:23:17 · update #1
This is called haveing a REALLY bad day.
2007-09-11 14:53:59 · answer #1 · answered by HyperGforce 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is a disclaimer as with all airbags. That disclaimer is that the airbags will not deploy in all situations. You said yourself it was close to a head on, but at an angle. Maybe the parameters weren't there for the airbags to go off, or a faulty circuit could be the cause of the airbag deploying at the delayed period. As for the windshield, that is laminated windshield glass. This way when the windshield shatters, it doesn't go flying in the direction of the passengers eyes or mouth.
In either case, it's a blessing your friend came out of her accident alive. Hope she's recouperating well.
2007-09-07 19:15:57 · answer #2 · answered by mrjones550 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Didn't happen that way. If she were belted in she couldn't have struck the steering wheel, so I would guess that her face was mere inches away from the wheel at the time of the collision or she is mistaken about the facts. The windsheild shattering from the force of airbag deployment is common. If the bag 'launched her head' back into the seat this is a sure sign she was not wearing her seatbelt, so FORGET about running to a lawyer and trying to sue GM. There is a black box that will tell if the seatbelts were in use at the time of the accident.
2007-09-08 11:00:28 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Car experts say frontal airbags are designed to deploy in moderate or severe crashes that equal hitting a solid barrier going about 8-14 mph. NHTSA says that's the equivalent of hitting a parked car of similar size -- going about 16-28 miles per hour. A parked car absorbs some of the crash's energy, NHTSA says.
Some car makers have different "thresholds" that determine when an airbag should deploy, experts say.
Those thresholds often depend on whether the occupants are wearing their seat belts. The 8-14 mph threshold is generally designed for unbelted passengers; it's higher for belted passenger.
NHTSA say the deployment threshold is lower for unbelted passengers because they continue to move forward -- at the vehicle's original speed -- until their movement is stopped by the steering wheel, instrument panel, or windshield.
Car experts also say there's a 30 degree angle -- on either side of a vehicle's front center -- that generally must be hit for the frontal airbags to deploy.
Car experts also say frontal airbags are not designed to deploy in side impacts, rear impacts, or rollover crashes. Also, these airbags deploy only once -- in about 1/20th of a second -- and deflate immediately. That means they offer no protection if the vehicle is hit -- or rolls over -- multiple times in the same accident.
2007-09-11 01:28:02 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
There may have been a secondary impact. If she impacted the other car at an angle, the air bag was not supposed to go off immediately, because her head would have been moving slightly to the side when the air bag went off, possibly breaking her neck. The air bag is supposed to deploy in a straight-on hit. The car can bounce sideways after, but if the impact is at all sideways, the sensor is not meant to trip. If her head hit the steering wheel, she either was not wearing her seat belt, or she had it loose, or tucked under her arm, which can be fatal. Take it from me, I am a seat-belt survivor, and an educated driver licence issuer and insurance broker.
2007-09-07 21:48:35 · answer #5 · answered by Fred C 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Every new vehicle is plastered with SRS stickers, explaining that the airbags are supplementary restraining system. The primary system would be the seat belts. As your friend found out the seat belts take a fraction of a second to deploy, it is the job of the seat belts to keep you from being thrown forward in the fraction of a second it takes the bags to deploy.
2007-09-08 20:50:27 · answer #6 · answered by cimra 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In short because that is what it is supposed to do.
Better the airbag shatter the windshield then her head.
I get the feeling that she sits quite close to the steering wheel!
2007-09-07 18:18:36 · answer #7 · answered by dVille 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
sounds like the airbags did their job...
2007-09-07 19:16:23 · answer #8 · answered by krooser2 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Was she wearing a seatbelt? it sounds like maybe not???
2007-09-08 08:59:11 · answer #9 · answered by kemosabbe 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋