what does it take to set off a airbag
#1
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what does it take to set off a airbag
i recently got into a accident with a 18 wheeler and none of my air abgs went off. does any one know the specs for these
#4
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i was going down the highway about 70mph and slid on ice into the rear four tires of a 18 wheeler. it slammed both passenger doors the car hooked'em and about tore the whole right side of the car off
#5
RX8 and a Truk....
Originally Posted by boobedigtl
i was going down the highway about 70mph and slid on ice into the rear four tires of a 18 wheeler. it slammed both passenger doors the car hooked'em and about tore the whole right side of the car off
My guess is, that shoulda done it - but if you and any passengers were unharmed, no worries.
#6
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Does this mean the cars a lemon? If the insurance decides to fix it, who's to say they wont go off when some one is there?
#7
He's as bad as Can
This is only a guess on my part but if you locked the wheels during your skid the car could have been sliding more that 40 MPH but the computer thought is wasn’t moving at all. Speed of impact is the main thing that controls the bags. Wheels not moving hitting the back of a truck going forward = not enough the set off the bags?? Again just thinking out loud
#9
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so if your at a stop light and some comes slamming into you, toyr whells arent moving,no airbag deployment?
#10
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I feel fairly qualified to say that the vehicle speed sensors are not used when determining whether or not to deploy the airbags. There should be (in most cars, at least) separate accelerometers that detect a crash event.
#13
He's as bad as Can
Originally Posted by boobedigtl
what should be done to check the check the air bags? how do you know if anythings wrong w/ them?
Last edited by expo1; 12-23-2004 at 11:32 AM.
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Originally Posted by boobedigtl
what should be done to check the check the air bags? how do you know if anythings wrong w/ them?
#17
He's as bad as Can
You might want to also contact Mazda. They could be interested in examining your car. Accidents are very interesting things from an engineers point of view. How many times have you seen a wreck on the road and said, “ How the hell did that happen”. Real world accidents often differ greatly from the ones they do in the crash center. Think about it could you come up with a crash test that duplicates what happened to you?
#18
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Originally Posted by dmp
ABS doesn't prevent them from locking on snow/ice.
#19
He's as bad as Can
Now that I think about it more what I think would happen to an ABS car on ice when in a panic situation is that the system would slow down the wheels to almost the locking point. They would be rotating so slowly that you could read the sidewall. Yes they wouldn’t be “locked” but in terms of their revolutions per sec VERY SLOW. Giving the car’s computers the impression you were not traveling very fast.
#20
RX8 and a Truk....
Originally Posted by djseto
Not sure I agree with this. While I dont have my 8 up here in Boston, I have been driving my parents ABS cars this past week. When I brake on snow or slide on ice, the ABS system is going nuts. This is going forward or reverse...I dont think I have ever put my car into a spin on ice...but I would think it will still attempt to pump the brakes to establish some sort of friction between the tires and the road...
I've experienced it. (shrug).
The pedal would kick like a mule...however. Tires still locked up.
#21
Air bags are set off by a item called an acceleromitor (ya I know spelling) it measures how quickly the car is accelrated or deccelrated. Therefor the speed of the car is not the sole factor it also includes how quickly the car changes direction. Therefor a side impact would not set off the front airbags. Sounds like you side swiped tht truck that might be why the side air bags didn't go off. I will say that I am not an expert so I could be a little off but I think I am on target with what I said. If not please let me know.