The force of airbags

[sassnetguy50]

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[Subdeacon Joe]

Yeah, there is considerable force in those things.  If you search "feet on dash airbag" or something similar you will find rather horrific x-rays of what happens to legs.

[Pat Riot, SASS #13748]

When I moved to WV I took a mock driving test online for my driver’s license. I had not read the book. I wanted to see if their questions were legitimate or they were like California’s…you know, stupid, like 3 drunk sorority girls developed them to confuse people with 4 answers that could all be correct. 
Anyway, there was a question something like this:

What is the best and safest position of one’s hands on the steering wheel when driving using the numbers on a clock as a reference?

A. 9:00 & 3:00

B. 10:00 & 2:00

C. 11:00 & 1:00

D. 8:00 & 4:00

 

I clicked B.

I was incorrect.

It was A.

The explanation on the website stated that 9:00 & 3:00 were best because in an accident the airbags would cause less harm with your hands in this position due to the violent activation force.

 

Makes sense. I also thought it was cool that they referenced an analog click face. 
 

[Still hand Bill]

Especially the original air bags were violent in inflation.   Easily breaking an arm if it’s in the wrong place when it goes off.   Same reason kids are no longer allowed in the front seat.  Airbags can kill them.  The reason is they have to prevent injury for a 95% unbelted male.  To do that they need to be quick and strong.  Get a small person or something out of place and people get hurt.   Having been in a car when one went off, they are loud (as expected) and smell just like red dot.  

[Badlands Bob #61228]

And for short people who slide their seat up close to the steering wheel, they can expect to have their face blistered by the airbag.  

[Cypress Sun]

 

I've seen what happens to a dog carried on the driver's lap...smashed dead dog. I used to try to warn people about doing carrying their dog like that and how it would affect their ability to react quickly to an emergency, but I stopped doing that. People were not only getting argumentatively defensive, one wanted to get physically defensive. Didn't come to blows, but it was close. Hell with it, they want their dog smashed on their chest, so be it.

 

 

[Texas Joker]

1 hour ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

Yeah, there is considerable force in those things.  If you search "feet on dash airbag" or something similar you will find rather horrific x-rays of what happens to legs.

Gloving is another nasty side affect of the explosive expansion in an airbag.

 

On a lighter note airbag popcorning is hilarity incarnate.  Talk your buddy into sitting on an airbag module and acti ate it remotely. Record and post...

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

18 minutes ago, Texas Joker said:

Gloving is another nasty side affect of the explosive expansion in an airbag.

 

Gloving?

[Texas Joker]

airbag expands so fast it flays the epidermis off your hands like a glove.

Early one stage airbags 

 

[Eyesa Horg]

1 hour ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

When I moved to WV I took a mock driving test online for my driver’s license. I had not read the book. I wanted to see if their questions were legitimate or they were like California’s…you know, stupid, like 3 drunk sorority girls developed them to confuse people with 4 answers that could all be correct. 
Anyway, there was a question something like this:

What is the best and safest position of one’s hands on the steering wheel when driving using the numbers on a clock as a reference?

A. 9:00 & 3:00

B. 10:00 & 2:00

C. 11:00 & 1:00

D. 8:00 & 4:00

 

I clicked B.

I was incorrect.

It was A.

The explanation on the website stated that 9:00 & 3:00 were best because in an accident the airbags would cause less harm with your hands in this position due to the violent activation force.

 

Makes sense. I also thought it was cool that they referenced an analog click face. 
 

Many, many moons ago, and was taught 10 &2. But am typically abt. 4:30 

[Eyesa Horg]

1 hour ago, Texas Joker said:

Gloving is another nasty side affect of the explosive expansion in an airbag.

 

On a lighter note airbag popcorning is hilarity incarnate.  Talk your buddy into sitting on an airbag module and acti ate it remotely. Record and post...

At the dealership where I worked we had to send a bunch back to Chrysler. Can't ship them loaded!! So had to blow em off first! Fun was had by all !! They sound like a magnum 12ga. One tech weighing abt. 250+#s stood on a steering wheel one, launched him abt. 3-4 feet in the air instantly.

[bgavin]

My cardiologist insisted I ride the back seat to avoid airbags for the first three months after CABG.
He said a ruptured sternum would be catastrophic at best.
I can only imagine the damage an explosive air bag would do...

[Calamity Kris]

Another thing to be cognizant of is eyeglass frames.  We have a friend who's airbag detonated and shoved their frames into their face.  They were wearing wire frames with nose pads and the blast forced the nose pads into the sides of their nose, requiring stitches.  My sunglass frames are now single piece plastic frames without nose pads.......

[Pat Riot, SASS #13748]

19 minutes ago, Calamity Kris said:

Another thing to be cognizant of is eyeglass frames.  We have a friend who's airbag detonated and shoved their frames into their face.  They were wearing wire frames with nose pads and the blast forced the nose pads into the sides of their nose, requiring stitches.  My sunglass frames are now single piece plastic frames without nose pads.......

I wear single piece frames because frames with nose pads let air hit me in the eyes when I ride my bike. I never considered airbags and what they might do. 
Thank you for mentioning this. 

[sassnetguy50]

57 minutes ago, Calamity Kris said:

Another thing to be cognizant of is eyeglass frames.  We have a friend who's airbag detonated and shoved their frames into their face.  They were wearing wire frames with nose pads and the blast forced the nose pads into the sides of their nose, requiring stitches.  My sunglass frames are now single piece plastic frames without nose pads.......

Same thing happens when someone punches you on your glasses.

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

The red car was my wife’s Buick Encore after a 22-car pileup 3 years ago. She survived with a cracked sternum and 6 broken ribs. Without the airbags I’d be a widower. We like airbags. 
 

[Blackwater 53393]

I worked for several years in the handicapped adaptive segment of the automotive industry. We mostly did wheelchair adaptations and drivers’ hand controls.

 

On two separate occasions, I did special adaptations for smaller women who had been permanently disabled by airbags that deployed in an accident. 
 

Being petite, they had moved the driver’s seat forward to facilitate operating the pedals and reaching the steering wheel.  Both had been wearing seatbelts. Both had received broken necks when the airbags deployed.

 

The reason that they leave the smell of burnt gunpowder is because that’s what makes ‘em inflate. (Some people STILL don’t know that!). They are also very hot for an instant when activated. 
 

 

[J.D. Daily]

23 hours ago, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

The red car was my wife’s Buick Encore after a 22-car pileup 3 years ago. She survived with a cracked sternum and 6 broken ribs. Without the airbags I’d be a widower. We like airbags. 
 

I'd expect that large pileups to happen in snow in KS.  My 6 months at Ft Riley in 1971 which included driving on snowy & icy on roads I observed that KS drivers don't know how to drive on the stuff.  Having grown up in a family that had/has a vacation home in S. Lake Tahoe & my father who grew up in Cadillac MI I learned how to drive on the stuff. 

P.S. My dad & maternal grandfather received some good advice one winter weekend when driving home in a snowstorm.  Even with chains on they slide into a snowbank twice.  The 2nd tow truck driver gave them some advice that I remember to this day.  Lower the tire pressure to <20 PSI.  More than 10 years after he told me the trick I used it when driving west on I40 on Dec 8th through ice storm in OK & TX then snow in NM.  I didn't bother to buy chains because I had no traction issues.  In OK & TX the hwy was like a rough scatting rink.  Trucks were stopped on the high points waiting for the truck in front trying to get up the next incline.  Those trucks drive axle tires were spinning halfway up the incline.

The misses & I were not going to wait to drive home to the SF Bay Area until I80 opened.  I was separated from the Army at noon on Dec. 7th.  I80 was closed at Little America.  We drove to OK City on the 7th.  On the 8th I40 was hit with an ice storm.

P.S.  How many vets remember the date they became inactive reserve?  Being DEC 7th I can't forget.

[Utah Bob #35998]

On 1/15/2023 at 5:50 AM, Cypress Sun said:

 

I've seen what happens to a dog carried on the driver's lap...smashed dead dog. I used to try to warn people about doing carrying their dog like that and how it would affect their ability to react quickly to an emergency, but I stopped doing that. People were not only getting argumentatively defensive, one wanted to get physically defensive. Didn't come to blows, but it was close. Hell with it, they want their dog smashed on their chest, so be it.

 

 

 Learned not to give unsolicited advice about  Anything. It took me years to learn that. I’m slow.

[Utah Bob #35998]

There are lots videos of garage repairmen (who should know better) sitting on salvaged un detonated airbag units and activating  them. 

[Blackwater 53393]

We saw demonstrations of airbags when they were first introduced.  Actually, before the first ones were included in production vehicles, we received training and instruction on how to maintain and replace ‘em.

 

The instructors explained that they could be dangerous way back then.  

Mishandling an airbag can sometimes fix stupid!!   

[Chili Ron]

Howdy,

Is it legal to remove the air bag??

It almost sounds like the bags should be optional.

But that would make too much sense....

Best

CR

 

 

 

[Rip Snorter]

Having gone to pre airbag accidents, I certainly wouldn't remove mine.  Possible lesser injury vs. greater.  That said, been driving my old truck which is pre airbag for 13 years - luck of the draw.