Car Airbags

[wolfie]

An article over 20 years old has little relevance today, after a couple decades of improvements to all kinds of vehicle safety measures. You might as well point to a Boeing 707's safety record to determine how safe a 787 is.

20 years ago, it was possible to build a car without airbags that gave better occupant protection than a roughly equivalent car (i.e. I'm not comparing a Sprint with airbags to a Caprice without) that didn't have them. It's unlikely that the technology to give good protection without airbags has been lost - what's happened is that the government has decreed "This particular technology is the safe way to go, automakers shall use it, and end-users shall not disable it - even in cases (i.e. short people) where it is known that this technology endangers their lives".

That's a... rather special way to word it. Did you know in the engine in your car there are a few hundred explosions occurring every few seconds? Egads, when you put it that way, it sounds terrible, doesn't it?!

Sorry, explosives? Detonations? Do airbags work differently from what I understand? Do they pack TNT in your car or something?

Can't give the exact details off-hand (my hazmat guide is in my truck, not beside my home computer), but airbags are Class 1 (explosives). As for the engine, it doesn't have actual explosions (merely fast combustion, there are certain technical criteria that distinguish extremely fast combustion from an actual explosion) - gasoline is Class 3 (flammable liquid) - diesel is also Class 3, but rated as a combustible liquid (a bit "tamer" due to its higher flash point). Also, the engine is not located in the passenger compartment, and it is required for the car to be able to operate (a car can run without airbags).

[TheHuckster]

20 years ago, it was possible to build a car without airbags that gave better occupant protection than a roughly equivalent car (i.e. I'm not comparing a Sprint with airbags to a Caprice without) that didn't have them. It's unlikely that the technology to give good protection without airbags has been lost - what's happened is that the government has decreed "This particular technology is the safe way to go, automakers shall use it, and end-users shall not disable it - even in cases (i.e. short people) where it is known that this technology endangers their lives".

Well, judging by that report, either nobody shorter than 65 inches drives cars newer than 2000 or airbags are safer in cars built after 2000. Take your pick.

Can't give the exact details off-hand (my hazmat guide is in my truck, not beside my home computer), but airbags are Class 1 (explosives). As for the engine, it doesn't have actual explosions (merely fast combustion, there are certain technical criteria that distinguish extremely fast combustion from an actual explosion) - gasoline is Class 3 (flammable liquid) - diesel is also Class 3, but rated as a combustible liquid (a bit "tamer" due to its higher flash point). Also, the engine is not located in the passenger compartment, and it is required for the car to be able to operate (a car can run without airbags).

I really don't understand what point you're trying to make, except that it seems you're abusing words to make something sound worse than it really is, similar to language used to scare people about Dihydrogen Monoxide. Are you trying to say these explosives might blow up the car? Or that they could be collected for nefarious purposes to build a bomb? Or what?

[protege]

Are you trying to say these explosives might blow up the car? Or that they could be collected for nefarious purposes to build a bomb? Or what?

I think he's referring to the explosive charges that are used to quickly inflate the airbags. Not all of them--many of the side-impact types use air cylinders instead.

[otakuneko]

Air bags are not, and have not been for quite a long time, an all or nothing deal. Modern airbag systems can and do adjust to the driver and passenger, even going so far as to automatically disable the passenger airbag entirely.