What’s it like to sit through a crash/air bag deployment?
- Thread starter gman2304
- Start date
I hit a deer a few years ago. I thought the loud noise I heard was the impact but for a few seconds after the crash I thought I was blind and I did not remember seeing the deer actually make contact the last thing I remember was going for the brake. It was the most disorienting thing that ever happened to me other than when I was broadsided on my motorcycle by someone pulling out of a parking lot. I dont remember anything about that one, just what bystanders told me.
Pretty unpleasant, only lasting effect is a burn scar on my forearm from contact friction with whatever the material they are made of during deployment that still gets sore 7 yrs later...........next level rug burn!
Don't remember much else about it other than it knocked me pretty silly.....
Don't remember much else about it other than it knocked me pretty silly.....
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That's probably true even without an airbag.
I was in a head on in a 1994 Miata as a passenger. I'm 5'11" and was sitting slouched in the seat at the time. We had just enough time to realize the accident was about to happen (We were sitting at a stop sign) before the impact. I don't remember the bag going off, I just remember the bag sitting in my lap and my knees having pushed the dash forward. Otherwise we were unscathed. The propellant and powder they packed into those bags in the 94's tastes horrible.
It was sortof an odd accident. We were waiting to get on the local 4 lane from a smaller road(Turning westbound, so across the eastbound lanes. The person opposite us, didn't look before crossing (old school Nissan Hardbody - Tiny Pickup), he hit a Ford Taurus headed eastbound at speed (65 ish). The Taurus ran into us, bounced off, flew across the concrete island and knocked a Ram 1500 off the turn lane and into the grass.
Lots of energy dissipated between the two moving cars and the two stopped ones. The driver of the truck was life-flighted, never heard what happened to him. The lady in the Taurus broke an ankle, and the two of us in the Miata walked away with just soreness the next day. Dude in the 1500, I'm not actually sure, I don't remember anything happening to him.
I went on to buy a Miata a few years later. They may be small, but they were/are well-built and handled that accident just fine.
It was sortof an odd accident. We were waiting to get on the local 4 lane from a smaller road(Turning westbound, so across the eastbound lanes. The person opposite us, didn't look before crossing (old school Nissan Hardbody - Tiny Pickup), he hit a Ford Taurus headed eastbound at speed (65 ish). The Taurus ran into us, bounced off, flew across the concrete island and knocked a Ram 1500 off the turn lane and into the grass.
Lots of energy dissipated between the two moving cars and the two stopped ones. The driver of the truck was life-flighted, never heard what happened to him. The lady in the Taurus broke an ankle, and the two of us in the Miata walked away with just soreness the next day. Dude in the 1500, I'm not actually sure, I don't remember anything happening to him.
I went on to buy a Miata a few years later. They may be small, but they were/are well-built and handled that accident just fine.
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Not as bad by a long shot as a flashbang going off next to you. Tender hearts may be get all shook up for a while.
I was involved in an accident in my Toyota Sienna back in Jan 2014. A truck spun in front of me on icy roads and I couldn't stop. The result was a 35MPH frontal hit on a stopped loaded box truck. What I remember is one heck of an impact, a very loud BANG as both the airbags and the seat belt tensioners deployed. We all had bruises from the seat belts. I'll promise you that if you were sitting in the back seat pulling on the shoulder harness, that you couldn't pull it as hard as the tensioners do.
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I’ve never been in an accident where the airbags deployed but I’ve seen accidents where they do and don’t remember hearing anything when they did deploy. Probably because they deploy on impact so you hear the impact with the airbag deploying.
That's why it's important to not use the hand-over hand steering technique or one-arm-cranking during scenarios that make airbag deployment likely. You do not want your hands and arms to get into the airbag deployment zone unless you don't mind eating your hand and possibly breaking you nose, teeth, wrist, or arms.
I guess it depends from person to person. I’m not easily startled, so all I got was ringing in my ears, like you hear nothing around you but the ringing and then it slowly disappears and you start hearing things round you. To this day I remember the deployment in front of my face.
The other driver though seemed startled. When I opened the door to her vehicles she did seemed confused and it took her a while to realize I was talking to her.
The other driver though seemed startled. When I opened the door to her vehicles she did seemed confused and it took her a while to realize I was talking to her.
Agree.
However one fractured wrist happened holding wheel at 10 and 2, no turning of the wheel.
!0 and 2 was the recommended holding technique for steering wheels before airbags were introduces. With airbags it's safest to stay at 9 and 3. The farther your hands are from 9 and 3, the more likely the hands and arms will end up in the airbag deployment zone. I wonder how many people honk and don't get their hand off the horn before they crash. On a positive note, even a broken wrist or arm is preferable to permanent steering wheel branding on the nose or forehead. Smoking during airbag deployment is another hazard. Imagine getting a briar pipe slammed into your throat.
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Wife and daughter went through that recently in our Tahoe. Those belt assemblies became critical path when the body/paint work was done and dusted … sat waiting. Insurance company was required to get them from the factory … and 100% gets changed out. (GM dealer did our work).
I've never experienced air bag deployment, either due to the crash being a rear end collision, or due to the vehicle not having air bags.
When I t-boned a newer Malibu in my 1994 Explorer (they were at fault), I thought I was about to be seriously messed up when the hood folded up, but the passenger compartment held up really well, and the seat belt locked me in place. In that case, I think an air bag would have injured me worse..all I had was seat belt bruises, my right ankle hurt from still being on the brake pedal, and a small cut on my left arm. The driver of the Malibu had a broken arm, but probably would have been hurt far worse if they didn't have side air bags.
A friend of mine had an 00 or 01 BMW E46 3 series that blew all the air bags after hitting a big pot hole. He was able to pull the car over on a side street, but it was very disorienting. It totaled the car.
When I t-boned a newer Malibu in my 1994 Explorer (they were at fault), I thought I was about to be seriously messed up when the hood folded up, but the passenger compartment held up really well, and the seat belt locked me in place. In that case, I think an air bag would have injured me worse..all I had was seat belt bruises, my right ankle hurt from still being on the brake pedal, and a small cut on my left arm. The driver of the Malibu had a broken arm, but probably would have been hurt far worse if they didn't have side air bags.
A friend of mine had an 00 or 01 BMW E46 3 series that blew all the air bags after hitting a big pot hole. He was able to pull the car over on a side street, but it was very disorienting. It totaled the car.
My grandmother had a seizure and ran underneath the rear bumper of a parked fuel oil delivery truck that cleaved the A-pillar, B-pillar, and the headrest of my seat off of her Ford LTD station wagon. I had unbuckled my seatbelt to try and reach for the brake pedal just prior to her hitting the truck. After hitting the truck we continued on a bit farther and stopped after hitting a tree. I'd be dead if I wasn't leaning down into the driver side floorboard. I got out with just some minor scratches and ran to a nearby convenience store so they could call 911.
I was hit in an intersection while driving my wife's 2016 Mitsubishi. At first I couldn't see anything because the airbag was in my face. It knocked the baseball cap I had on into the rear of the vehicle. What I remember most was the smoke and the horrible smell of the deployed airbags.
I wear a watch all the time, and the thought of my wrist slapping my face with a big stainless steel diver type is not a pleasant concept. Fortunately not many people smoke a pipe while driving...or eat popsicles. Scary thread.
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