Hi Rick,
I promise I won't belabor this, but after years of 40-50K miles per year
business
travel, I have seen a few awful accidents. I am sour on air bags because I have
several friends who's lives depended on them working, and it is very
questionable
if the injuries inflicted by the SRS might have even been more severe than if
there never was a SRS in the car. I have also witnessed two chain collisions in
severe winter weather. In the multiple car pile up I mentioned, the air bag did
deploy when the car hit the car in front, and indeed the driver was thrown
forward into the bag. Now the bad news: when the next car hit her from behind,
the driver was driven backward into the seat, but rebounded into the dash,
straightened up, then hit the dash again when her car collided with one in front
of her. An air bag was needed in this part of the accident. As other cars
spun
and hit from the side and every other way, there were no side air bags nor
anymore front airbags to protect drivers or passengers. She was killed by the
secondary, tertiary and/or quaternary impacts. Another participant was killed
when his car was shoved off the road down a deep embankment that looked like the
Grand Canyon. Real seat belts might have saved either of them.
SRS's may have saved some lives, but they have also been responsible for
breaking
the necks of more than a few youngsters, and have injured numerous adults. The
safety devices used in race cars works better IMHO, and the last thing we need
is
to be getting punched in the face by George Foreman during an accident. Here's
hoping none of us nor our loved ones ever need to depend on any restraint system
in any motor vehicle. Safety Fast, damn it!!!
BTW, thanks for the use of the soap box.
Jim
REwald9535@aol.com wrote:
> Jim,
> In the real world air bags do save lives. Over 1200 in an article I read
> last year. One thing you must understand is that they are not I repeat not a
> replacement for seat belts they are for use in addition to. The official
> name of an air bag system is SRS (Supplemental Restraint System) the bags are
> designed to supplement the seat belts NOT replace them.
> In the multiple car pile up you mention, the air bag will deploy when the car
> is strongly decelerated (i.e. hits the car in front) this throws the driver
> forward into the bag. When the next car hits from behind the driver is
> driven backward into the seat. Remember Newton object in motion stays in
> motion / object at rest stays at rest? No air bag is needed in this part of
> the accident. If the car is spun and hit from the side, some cars have side
> bags to protect driver/passenger in this case.
> BTW I was doing an air bag demo for some firemen the other day and the
> firemen, who see more accidents than you and I, confirmed that people are
> surviving accidents now that 20 years ago would have been fatal. Now not all
> of this is airbags of course, better body structure has a lot to do with it,
> but bags do contribute.
> OK, I'll take the soap box out now.
> Rick Ewald
> (whose S 80 has 11 count them 11 separate igniters in the system)
>
> In a message dated 01/05/2000 7:45:53 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> microdoc@apk.net writes:
>
> > I wonder if it
> > has anything to do with their ineffectiveness in most real world collision
> > circumstances (i.e. a California freeway multiple car pile up)? I'll keep
> my
> > seat belts, thank you.
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