Bad News....

[Vinny]

Originally Posted by Scooter

wolf, it doesnt matter how fast you're going, the airbag sensors only record how abruptly you stop. if you go from 15mph to 0 too quickly they'll deploy ... it's the rate of deceleration.

That is part of it but the air bags are actuated by a crush zone sensor first and foremost, and it has zero to do with how fast you stop if you do not violate the crush zones. It is a device that tells the bag to inflate as the cars crush zones are penetrated.

www.gm.com

Whether your frontal air bags will or should deploy is not based on how fast your vehicle is traveling. It depends largely on what you hit, the direction of the impact and how quickly your vehicle slows down.

Air bags are designed to inflate in frontal and near-frontal crashes that exceed a predetermined deployment "threshold." That threshold takes into account a variety of desired deployment and non-deployment events and is used to predict how severe the crash is likely to be in time for the air bags to inflate and cushion the occupants.

Typically, if a vehicle goes straight into a wall that does not move or deform, the bags will deploy at an impact speed of about 9 to 16 miles per hour. Impact speeds that are likely to result in a crash that exceeds the deployment threshold will differ if the vehicle hits something that moves or deforms, or if the impact is localized — such as hitting a pole — or at an angle. The severity of a head-on crash into a wall at 9 to 16 miles per hour is similar to that of a head-on crash into an identical parked car at 18 to 32 miles per hour. Deployment thresholds can vary with vehicle design, and different manufacturers use different deployment thresholds.

[Scooter]

good lookin out blue. i honestly didnt know direction or crush zones had anything to do with it, especially from gm. my last experience was really bizarre ... was driving in the rain in a 95 Z28. was going in a U-turn under the freeway on I-45 north at somewhere between 20-30mph and (drag radials) went sliding into the curb towards the end of the U. that slide and hitting the curb completely sideways (wheels first) was enuff to send the bags out. it was honestly the next day before my head cleared & a week before i quit smelling sulfer. i didnt hit the bag, it hit me and lemme tell ya it didnt feel good lol. something i really didnt like was the passenger bag - it sent the hard plastic cover OUT & UP hard enough to smash the windshield. had anyone be too close to that it damn well could've killed em.

[Vinny]

Yeah, airbags are dangerous too. You can hit something at 20 mph and an air bag will come screaming out at nearly 200 mph and hammer you. Seat bets should always be worn with any car that has airbags. Especially first generation airbags. The early ones are the most dangerous ones because they came out at a higher velocity than most of the newer ones do. I used to work for GMAC. There are some pretty ugly stories.

[rittenhouserobz]

Originally Posted by Wolf

you may be right. I have hit something and the airbags didn't go off. I am not sure how that works.

the thing about the hitting a tree. he could have .06 and he could still get charged with DWI. I guess it depends on what kind of attorney he has and how they play it.

What witnesses saw him hit the object? The law enforement agency only showed up after a while.

My brother was pulled over for speeding. He had a couple drinks, but he was still charged with a DUI. My brother passed the roadside test and blew under the limit. It cost him thousands when he was innocent. They ended up charging him with reckless, because they could NOT prove the DUI.

I think that better judgement can be used in certain cases. There are obvious drunk people driving, and then there is the person who had two drinks at dinner.

[Wolf]

exactly.. Texas law has "rules" for DWI. 1) 1) "not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties by reason of the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of two or more of those substances, or any other substance into the body; or 2) "having an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more."

so either coleman has .08 or the wreck puts him in the 1 catagory (even if he doesn't have .08)

[ghostlight]

What was the name of the Oiler that left a Tittie Bar driving DWI and hit a gruard rail throwing his buddy through the windshield onto the I-10 below. He pulled a shotgun out of his trunk and ****. I think he played football at Norte Dame. I'm sure 38% of Americans polled would say what Keyfro is saying.

What a deal,I can't even remember his name.

[wags]

I think his name was Ted Kennedy.

[Joe Texan]

Alm, Jeff

His friend was ejected all choked up