Uhm, you are looking for data for a possible law suit, so have the victim work with his attorney and accident investigators. You DO NOT want data from this forum that could be wrong, very wrong or very very stupid and the vitim gets laughed out of court.

 

Relax. I'm not going to court and my friend won't be using anything from this discussion. I'm just trying to understand the situation.

 

Pretty much what @Vice-White wrote.

As you will find this info elsewhere, I might just post it here:

Seatbelts and airbags are separate systems. Airbags do not need seatbelts to be worn to deploy.

It is possible to hack the airbag system in many ways: fooling the system with resistors if the airbag is not present, hacking the control unit etc. The system itself is highly redundand for obvious reasons. Any failure of any component should trigger the warning light, if not hacked.

Simple removal of the fuse should trigger the warning light.

Airbag deployment is dependent on several factors: force of impact, direction of impact, orientation and overall motion of the vehicle etc. It may be that the collision did not meet all criteria for deployment.

And finally: what the hell was your friend thinking not wearing a seatbelt? Glad he didn't win the darwin award, hope he learned his lesson.

 

And finally: what the hell was your friend thinking not wearing a seatbelt? Glad he didn't win the darwin award, hope he learned his lesson.

I know ! We can't figure that out either. Not sure if it was a regular habit with him or not. FWIW, I have another friend that will drive blocks before putting a seat belt on. WTH ?

He didn't win the Darwin award, but he is pretty messed up. He has been in the hospital for 6 weeks now. He has life changing injuries. I'd share more details but I want to respect the privacy of the family.

Wear your seatbelt, kiddos !

 

I currently work at a body shop. I’ve been the estimator for MANY large to extreme collisions where the airbags did not deploy. I’ve also seen some minor collisions where the airbag DID deploy. I often questioned to myself, why did the airbags not deploy on this large impact? I’ve found through ALLDATA, that there are anywhere from 4-6 impact sensors in the front of the engine bay. That being said, the impact does need to physically trigger these sensors for the airbag to go off. It’s very possible that the impact your friend sustained was not in an area where the sensors are mounted.

 

I’ve found through ALLDATA, that there are anywhere from 4-6 impact sensors in the front of the engine bay. That being said, the impact does need to physically trigger these sensors for the airbag to go off. It’s very possible that the impact your friend sustained was not in an area where the sensors are mounted.

Interesting.

 

There are too many unknown variables in this case. As was stated the impact needs to trigger a sensor

 

Nope, airbag should have deployed (if it actually is in the car...). There is no scenario where a fully grown adult would be better off without an airbag.

Judging by the "wedgie" the building gave the car, and personal experience I'd say the speed would've been somewhere within a 30 to 40 mph range.

 

The mystery continues.

 

Can you post some pics of your buddies wrecked vehicle?

 

I won't due to the family's privacy.

 

My .02 Have your friend contact attorney, communicate with their insurance company and comply with local police investigating the accident.

 

"The air bags did not fire. The wife is saying something about fuses being too small."

Did the fuses blow and prevent current to the igniters or are they just "too small?" Too small should have blown if too much current went through them. They are also unlikely to be fast blowing fuses. I would think that an offset impact to the driver's side would have also set off the driver's side airbag, but no?

 

I was rear end by a guy going about 35mph (in my truck) which did not trigger any airbag deployment. Maybe since it went under the hitch.

 

Rear end should not launch the bags. You need a few things.
The air bag sensors to sense STOP or serious reveres Gs
The transmission to sense STOP
Wheels sense STOP.
Essentially hitting a wall.

 

Rear end should nto launch the bags. You need a few things.
The air bag sensors to sense STOP
The transmission to sense STOP
Wheels sense STOP.
Essentially hitting a wall.

I was the wall , stopped in traffic and the guy just wasn't paying attention. I was surprised they didn't go. Worse thing was just watching it in the rearview mirror and waiting for impact with no where to go.

Yes, I think it also helped that the Durango weighs as much as it does. This kept its wheels down doing 360s instead of flipping over upside down + landing on the roof.

After the accident the driver that hit our car tried to blame me for the accident. The cop that arrived on scene took one look at the dents + said 'there's no way what you're saying is true" also 2 drivers stopped to give a statement because it all happened right in front of them.

get a dashcam, i have a front/rear 4k now in every vehicle and with the above accident. That helped immediately with the responding officer.

and of course, fun to capture dumb stuff.

 

What do you mean transmission senses stop @Vice-White ?

Most important factor in airbag deployment is the g-factor. You can crash at a relatively high speed without popping the bags if the g-factor is not high enough. For example you hit something that gradually slows the car down, the bags won't deploy even if the front sensors get hit.

Then again, if you veer of the street at high speed and hit a wall mid-air with your wheels still spinning the airbags willl deploy.

 

if the front sensors get hit, they just went backwards to negative Gs and should cause the bag to deply even if the car is still moving like you said.
Kind of like if you were on train tracks stopped and a train hits you head on.

Transmissions are a fail safe in air bag deployment and that data helps determine if the bag should get set off. I think there is some serious logic beyond the G sensor stuff in setting off air bags for specific situations.

 

I was hit by the car in the lane to the left who wasn't paying attention to the cars stopped in front of them + tried to go right as quickly as possible to avoid them.

We were going roughly 60mph when the guy next to us hit our durango in the lower part of the left drivers door. It spun us into 2 360s + after the second rotation I was able to gain control of the car and drive it to the side of the road.

Everyone was wearing seatbelts 2 adults and 3 children + nobody was hurt.

The airbags didn't go off.

Our Durango was repaired in under 2 weeks and looks like new.

 

Everyone was wearing seatbelts 2 adults and 3 children + nobody was hurt.

The airbags didn't go off.

In other words, the restraint system worked perfectly.

 

Is there any chance this was a suicide attempt? Unrestrained Driver high speed into a building?

 

I remember reading a study years ago that attributed an increase in fatal car accidents spiking right at the same time air bags were first being mandated for new cars.

Their conclusion was that there was a corresponding increase in average vehicle speeds along with citations for reckless behaviors by drivers resulting from a false sense of security that airbags would save you.

I don't know how accurate the study might have been but I do know that I've been passed on the highway by soccer moms in Volvo station wagons (once advertised as the world's safest car) full of kids going 90 weaving in and out of traffic. So....I think it's a distinct possibility.

I didn't wear a seat belt until in my thirties and got "schooled" by my 3 year old stepdaughter to do so.

Since that time I'm positive her life was likely saved by a seatbelt and I've been in two majors. All three "accidents" resulted in all vehicles involved being total losses.

I thank her every day for the lessons she gave me. Too bad your buddy had to pay a much higher price to learn.

 

I ran a shop for 14 years. This is a common theme amongst techs in discussion forums. Airbags today are like any other part - built by the lowest bidder, quality is hit or miss. The Takata recall was just scratching the surface.

I watched a 3 hour seminar by a since-deceased tech who was spreading the word about this years ago. Makes me wonder if someone powerful in the industry was behind his death ... but anyway ... his data on airbag deployment, if known by the general public, would have people SCREAMING for answers.

But like most things these days, the media only reports on what their gatekeepers tell them to report. Everything else hides in the shadows. May God help us all ...

To better explain it ... you have a better chance of striking it rich in the lottery than having your airbag perform as designed if you need it. Doesn't matter the brand of car - it's the same across the industry.

 

To better explain it ... you have a better chance of striking it rich in the lottery than having your airbag perform as designed if you need it. Doesn't matter the brand of car - it's the same across the industry.

Yeah that statement is about as pessimistic as my thoughts on UC5 but air bags have a super high rate of performing as intended. Ask Cops how many times they say to themselves, they occupants are lucky that air bags went off in that car. Takata air bag has nothing to do with air bag deployment in an accident. That is the work of the sensors and PCM.

 

Yeah that statement is about as pessimistic as my thoughts on UC5 but air bags have a super high rate of performing as intended. Ask Cops how many times they say to themselves, they occupants are lucky that air bags went off in that car. Takata air bag has nothing to do with air bag deployment in an accident. That is the work of the sensors and PCM.

I'm calling bullshit on this.

Believe what you want. Don't much give a shit either way.

 

My dad rear ended a truck in his 06 Buick LaCrosse and the air bags never went off, but fortunately he was not injured. It made a mess of the hood, but he did not hit the front impact bar to set the airbags off because the car decelerated too slowly.
Just speculation here: When your friend hit the corner of a building I assume that the building had a sharp corner and it acted like a wedge that split the car down the center. This could cause the car to not have the sudden impact that causes the airbag to go off because it was not a blunt frontal impact like rear ending someone. It would be like cutting a piece of cheese with a knife, instead of a hammer.

 

My friend was in an accident with his 2020ish SRT. He wasn't wearing his seat belt. The air bags didn't deploy. He was badly hurt but is recovering.

We are trying to figure out what happened to cause the accident. Some of the things his wife is saying don't quite add up. The vehicle was taken to an accident investigator to be checked out.

I have some questions...

1) Will airbags deploy in an accident if the driver isn't wearing the seat belt ?

2) If his vehicle was in an accident prior to them owning it, is there a way that the air bags could be non functional and yet the air bag light not illuminate ?

3) If the air bag fuses are removed from the fuse box will the air bag light come on ?

Thanks

Air bags are designed to perform only under certain parameters. If the crash didn't meet those parameters, they should not go off.
If your friend wasn't wearing a seatbelt, then his injuries may have been caused by not being restarined, but below the air bag deployment speed. Seat belts are the main safety device, air bags supplement the seat belts.

 

SRS = supplement restraint system.

Not sure why someone would not wear their seatbelts but to each his own…

 

I’m really sorry to hear about your friend’s accident, and I hope he continues to recover well. To answer your questions, from what I know, airbags typically won’t deploy if the driver isn’t wearing a seat belt, as they’re designed to work together for maximum safety.

As for whether airbags could be non-functional without triggering the airbag light, that’s definitely a concern.

Aside from being a probable "AI" bot.. posting in generalities on an old thread, 1st time poster... Enlighten us on "from what you know" with the dubious claim that air bags will not deploy if the driver isn't wearing a seat belt.

 

Prior poster has just added web link for Injury lawyers into post# 43...

 

Typical ambulance chaser…

 

classic bot, killing them may become a full time job , and the mods on these forums are just volunteers, with real lives..

 

They need to make an AI module for the forum that can ferret these bots out and delete the accounts.

 

That video of the airbag failure to deploy case study I watched years ago has been scrubbed from the net, but I did manage to find the guy that put out the vid. So pissed I didn't save that. If our elected officials did anything other than steal our money and make our lives difficult, there would've been sweeping legislation demanding an SRS system overhaul of EVERY automaker after that video was released.

Anyway ... airbags fail to deploy at a much higher rate than the general public is aware of. You can get a little idea of the failure modes if you've got the time / patience to watch this whole 3 hour + video. Dave passed away, so the first several minutes of the video are a tribute to him. Guy was a wealth of automotive knowledge. He made MANY shops better at their jobs as a result of his efforts.

Go to 1:33:49 for one such failure to deploy case: