Airbags were designed to save lives in automotive collisions. They have certainly lived up to that in more instances than not. Airbags though, have taken the lives of many others. Particularly at risk for injury or death are children and small adults. In 1999, the federal government enacted policies that required all vehicles to have airbags that deployed in a frontal collision.1 At that point, car manufacturers began to develop sensor systems to tell the airbags when it was best to deploy. The advancements in the field now allow sensors to measure the weight of the passengers to determine if it is a child or an adult, and inflate accordingly. There are sensors all over the car that tell it what type of collision has occurred, at what speed the vehicles were moving, and the number of passengers.2
Even with all of these advancements, there are sometimes equipment failures that do not signal the airbags to deploy and sometimes the airbags deploy when they should not. But in what instance should they deploy or not?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) states, “crash sensors measure how quickly a vehicle slows down in a frontal crash or accelerates to the side in a side-impact crash. Some vehicles are equipped with a sensing system designed to detect the onset of a rollover.”3 Frontal airbags are generally designed to deploy at the detection of a “moderate or severe” crash.4 Moderate or severe is defined as “equivalent to hitting a solid, fixed barrier at 8 to 14 mph or higher. (This would be equivalent to striking a parked car of similar speed at about 16 to 28 mph or higher).”5 The frontal impact sensors tell the car to deploy the frontal airbags as well as any side or curtain airbags for the passengers it senses. The airbag deployment is very quick and deflation is almost immediate after impact. NHTSA says that airbag deployment and deflation is generally over within one second.6 The timing of this deployment occurs so that it does not hinder the crash victim’s mobility. These frontal impact crashes are reported to have led to 38 percent of passenger-vehicles occupant fatalities.7
When a side collision or rollover is detected, the side or curtain airbags are deployed. In the case of a rollover collision, the sensors are designed to alert the airbags to stay inflated longer. Consumer Affairs warns drivers that “speed and damage are not good indicators” of when an airbag should deploy.8 Airbags are only designed to deploy once. The NHTSA says that you should not drive your car again, after deployment, until the airbags have been replaced.9
Consumer Affairs suggests that although rare, the instances of serious airbag injuries are an indication that there is a long way to go in the development of the sensor technology. Failure could lie in the sensor or the airbag. There have been numerous recalls on airbags because of failure, so being aware of where to find recall lists, as well as knowing the technology your car has is important. You can check here to see if your car has any manufacturer recalls.
Written by:
Lyndsey Mott
Watts Guerra, LLP
4 Dominion Dr, Bldg 3, Suite 100
San Antonio, Texas 78257
Office: (210) 447-0500
© Watts Guerra LLP 2015
1 http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/05/airbags_deployment.html
2 http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Shoppers/Air+Bags/General+Information
3 Id.
4 http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Shoppers/Air+Bags/General+FAQ
5 Id.
6 Id.
7 http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Shoppers/Air+Bags/General+FAQ
8 Id.
9 http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Shoppers/Air+Bags/General+Information
