Any one have a air bag go off??

[Jim Nelson]

In '99 I was hit head-on by a young guy passing a string of cars in the fog, on a narrow road with very narrow shoulders. There was no way to avoid him and we hit nearly head on causing both our air bags to deploy. I had just returned to work after open heart surgery and was just sure in the split second before he hit me that it would split my chest open. Fortunately for both of us we were in late model vehicles with seatbelts, air bags, and crumple zones . After the mess was over I went to work and ran a motor grader the rest of the day. I was a little sore for a few days but not bad. Very lucky.

I was driving a '96 Dodge Ram with Cummins so pretty heavy, he was in a small import late model, I don't remember the brand.

 

[ovrszd]

Great story Jim!!!! 10 years earlier and you both would have probably died.

 

[dstig1]

Had a wreck in a Taurus in 94 where the air bag went off. It was like slow motion and I could actually watch it inflate. Knocked my glasses off and cut my lip a bit but that was about it.

My mother is short and drives very close to the wheel too. She had some special setup at one point to turn the airbag off that they installed to make it safer for her. Later on this became moot when they went to 2-stage depowered bags. The powder some have mentioned is nothing more than talcum powder used to make sure the bag unfolds properly after potentially years of being folded up. Just an anti-stick measure.

 

[John White]

I was traveling through a intersection. Went through on a yellow light to avoid a car behind hitting me. Car coming opposite direction turned left in front of me on yellow also. Her insurance co. said they would not pay because it was both at fault, All I want from them to replace my car at replacement value, pay my towing charges and pay what my insurance doesn't pay on my medical bill. Around $12K I can't even get a lawyer to talk to me for that small amount. I am not asking anything for pain and suffering or time off work. I can go to small claims court but limit in Ohio is $5k

 

[4570Man]

I was traveling through a intersection. Went through on a yellow light to avoid a car behind hitting me. Car coming opposite direction turned left in front of me on yellow also. Her insurance co. said they would not pay because it was both at fault, All I want from them to replace my car at replacement value, pay my towing charges and pay what my insurance doesn't pay on my medical bill. Around $12K I can't even get a lawyer to talk to me for that small amount. I am not asking anything for pain and suffering or time off work. I can go to small claims court but limit in Ohio is $5k

If it was in fact yellow not red and she turned in front of you it seems like 100 percent on her not equal at fault.

 

[fried1765]

My wife is short legged. The steering wheel is up against her when driving. She almost always drives with both hands on the wheel at somewhere around 10/2.

I have had an airbag go off twice.
Once , low speed....no injury.
Once, somewhat higher speed....no injury.
I drive with my seat almost all the way back, just for this reason.

 

[dougtrr2]

Mine, or should I say the one in my wife's car, went off in a slow speed mishap. Lady turned left in front of me and I didn't even have time to go "oh crap". Airbags going off in a older car with over 200,000 miles instantly totals it. Pretty hard to call the wife and tell her I just totaled her Forester. It was her favorite car.

Other than a little dazed, no injuries on my part.

Doug in SW IA

 

[oosik]

1981 - a big 'ol school bus slid right out in front of me. He could not stop - very icy conditions. I buried my Toyota Land Cruiser - right up to the windshield - in the side of the bus. Bent the steering wheel forward so that both hands were touching the steering column. One on each side of the column. State Police were very surprised to see that I was still alive. The speed limit was 55 and that's exactly what I was doing. I had glanced to the left to see a drilling operation going on - just off the freeway. Looked back - all I could see was YELLOW.

You want to talk about being SORE ...... EVERY muscle in my body, from the waist up, ached for the longest time.

The Anchorage School District & I came to an agreement and avoided any unnecessary legal action. The Toyota was totaled. The School District bought me a brand new 3/4 ton Chevy PU.

Definitely not the recommended way to get a new vehicle.

Would an air bag have helped. I don't know. I don't think I could have been more sore and still have been alive.

 

[ovrszd]

If it was in fact yellow not red and she turned in front of you it seems like 100 percent on her not equal at fault.

Too much debate on whether the light was yellow or red. Impossible to prove I'd guess.

I don't understand why OP's insurance isn't paying?

 

[ovrszd]

1981 - a big 'ol school bus slid right out in front of me. He could not stop - very icy conditions. I buried my Toyota Land Cruiser - right up to the windshield - in the side of the bus. Bent the steering wheel forward so that both hands were touching the steering column. One on each side of the column. State Police were very surprised to see that I was still alive. The speed limit was 55 and that's exactly what I was doing. I had glanced to the left to see a drilling operation going on - just off the freeway. Looked back - all I could see was YELLOW.

You want to talk about being SORE ...... EVERY muscle in my body, from the waist up, ached for the longest time.

The Anchorage School District & I came to an agreement and avoided any unnecessary legal action. The Toyota was totaled. The School District bought me a brand new 3/4 ton Chevy PU.

Definitely not the recommended way to get a new vehicle.

Would an air bag have helped. I don't know. I don't think I could have been more sore and still have been alive.

I think your situation is what airbags are principally designed to control. No way to prove it, but I suspect your injuries would have been minor. I also suspect you hit the bus in the "right" spot so it's crumpling absorbed a lot of the impact.