Looking to buy a new car and considering buying earlier models without air bags,better with or without!.What are your experiences of low and high speed crashes with air bags going off. Ive never been through it, whats it like!.Thanks.
bjmh,
Feb 6, 3:56pm
wouldn't even consider somethiing without air bags.if theres a choice.never been in a bag related crash.but seen the results of many accidents with no bags.One of my customers won't wear his seatbelt,cause he heard of someone trapped by seatbelt in a burning car.Airbags and seatbelt restraints probably knock the body around ,but a skull doesn't look good when its met the windscreen at X kph.
ralphdog1,
Feb 6, 3:57pm
It's not pleasant having an airbag go off. The only thing more unpleasant is not having one and realising 25mS before you need it, and wishing you had not been such a tight arse. Feeling lucky!
saxman99,
Feb 6, 3:58pm
In a crash you're better off with an airbag.In daily life owning an older vehicle with an airbag they can be a pain when they give problems.
phillip.weston,
Feb 6, 4:19pm
a 20 year old car with an air bag is not going to be anywhere near as safe as a 5 or even 10 year old car with an air bag. The body frame can still crumble around you and the airbag will only protect your head and not your sides or legs/feet like a modern car does. Having said that an air bag equipped car is still going to be better than a non-equipped car.
I would also be focusing on other safety features like ABS brakes, traction control, brake assist etc. It doesn't actually cost too much for a safe enough vehicle these days - $2000-4000 can get you a late 90s Volvo S70/V70 or even S40/V40 with front and side air bags and decent side impact protection (SIPS), with the S40/V40 being the first vehicle to gain a 4-star NCAP safety rating when released in 1996.
monzaman,
Feb 6, 4:20pm
I've great experiences with airbags,putting them in a vice,crouch behind my roll-cab tool box when I touch last jump cable clip to a battery to set them off,expired dated or been in a crash(nofront passenger).
pebbles61,
Feb 6, 4:22pm
Let's not forget an airbag isn't an option on some cars now.
morrisman1,
Feb 6, 4:45pm
Although all these safety features are great for when you crash, the best option IMO is still passive safety - that is having a car that can not crash in the first place. Good handing, predictable, good brakes etc. Far far better than having a set of airbags in a top heavy SUV which will be on its roof quicker than johnny can quote the rules when you try to avoid that person who just pulled out infront of you.
bigfatmat1,
Feb 6, 5:23pm
a shield that stops drunks or people that cant drive crashing into you
unbeatabull,
Feb 6, 5:33pm
I use to have the same belief, the older, stronger built cars are safer. I've been to crash test sites and been involved in the research, design etc on safety systems on a car. I'd choose to have an exploded pillow go off in my face anyday over taking on the steering wheel.
pebbles61,
Feb 6, 5:33pm
Don't drive, it's far safer lol
grangies,
Feb 6, 7:01pm
Passive safety wont stop an SUV hitting your car though.
bigfatmat1,
Feb 6, 7:24pm
what were you involved with in the design !
skull,
Feb 6, 7:46pm
"Crash Test Dummy" is his name in real life.
unbeatabull,
Feb 6, 8:15pm
I didn't personally design anything, but I was part of the Ford NZ Team who disected the latest Fiesta's SRS system and went through all the design processes etc that they went though
richardmayes,
Feb 6, 8:20pm
In 2005 I was going 50km/h up the approach to the Akl harbour bridge, a lady in a near-new CR-V going 100km/h rear ended me, her airbags didn't go off, I would have thought hey would / should in a collision that hard.!
The first generation of cars that had airbags as commonplace in the 1990s are getting pretty old now, but there are still heaps of them around. I wonder if the electronics that decide it's time to deploy the airbag are really going to wake up and fire when the moment comes!
And if they don't, how big a difference does that make! (I notice the whole NCAP offset-frontal crash test seems well conditioned to make small lightweight cars look really good on paper so long as they have lots of airbags.)
unbeatabull,
Feb 6, 8:24pm
Its part of the system to be constantly live/tested. The computer reads the resistances in the wiring to and from the airbag, if its ever out (faulty wiring/degrading over time etc as you suggest) the computer will read that and puts the light on the dash.
You just hope the explosive charge still works!
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 6, 10:39pm
Electronics are usually fine as pointed out above. However manufacturers usually specify that the airbags themselves should be replaced at around 15- 20 years
skiff1,
Feb 7, 5:19pm
Wouldn't own a car without them now. Another guy pulled out in front of me and I hit him a open road speed. Airbags all went off,and I got out of the ute AOK. Most severe injury was a small carpet burn on the side of my thumbs where the bag went past. Magic
lookoutas,
Feb 7, 5:29pm
Airbags are pretty smart - they don't go off unless they really need to. We've all seen the video of the old duck that hits the bonnet of a car with her handbag after the driver toots at her to hurry up, and the bags pop - but that's bullshit.
snoopy221,
Feb 7, 5:42pm
Best examplei have ever seen was in Aucks in the nineties. A commadore literally ran out of road(Came clean off the end of the NW motorway) at well in excess of 160km/hr and rolled end for end a fair few times. Both bumpers were physically behind the windscreens. All occupants walked out of it.
doctor_evil99,
Feb 7, 7:05pm
Ask yourself this question: would you go across Cook Straight in a dingy without a life jacket!If your answer is Yes, then by all means buy that car without airbag!It only there when you need it.
mantagsi,
Feb 7, 7:22pm
No brain, no pain :) hehe, but truly that is pretty lucky, all safety features aside, it is impressive they lived considering the speed
rpvr,
Feb 8, 9:19am
Didn't think there was anything quicker than that!
morrisman1,
Feb 8, 5:47pm
grangies, if you were faced with the decision of one car which had airbags but handled like a bus, or another equally designed car which handled like a lotus 7, which would you prefer! Its a hard decision and it really depends on if you think as a driver you could avoid an accident if the car was also capable.
Airbags help, but they aren't a magic pill and only consider one type of accident.
Thankfully my vehicle both handles excellent and has airbags. Only two, but its a start and better than nothing.
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