Restarting a vehicle after airbag deployment
 

I saw this on the news the other day. A pickup hit a deer on I-35 in Forest Lake MN, the airbags deploy, and the truck shuts down. The driver can't get it going again, so she and her 12 year old daughter abandon the pickup in the middle lane, flashers on. Shortly afterwards, a inattentive truck driver slams into the stalled pickup. Is there something else the driver could have done?

https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/stalled-pickup-bursts-into-flames-after-being-rear-ended/89-3987d6d6-bd00-4831-a6a2-eb637d2b09a1

WTF? Why would air bag deployment completely disable a car. I guess it would be good to keep someone in a bad condition from going foot to the floor, but sheesh.

I don’t know about airbags, but could there have been an inertia fuel cut off switch?

I wanted to say my 2014 F150 has one. I know the 1986 Mustang had one.

There's a Pyro Fuse that blows when the air bags deploy. It cuts power to most circuits, other than the flashers, etc.
It is there to prevent an electrical source from being a source of ignition.

Ouch. Seems like in this particular situation, it was more of a liability than a good thing.

anything that's strong enough hit to deploy airbags is not a normal situaton anymore.
They don't go off for no reason do they


the real problem is the intattentive driver.
probably facebooking or whatever on his phone

anything that's strong enough hit to deploy airbags is not a normal situaton anymore.
They don't go off for no reason do they


the real problem is the intattentive driver.
probably facebooking or whatever on his phone


at about 118 seconds.. dude defo wasn't paying attention..

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A few years back, I had a collision with my Ranger on an icy bridge. Both airbags deployed and the engine killed from the sudden stop.
As soon as I got the windows opened to clear out the smoke...I restarted the engine and drove away. The bags didn't affect the engine at all.

I was instructing in a 944 at Bridgehampton when the airbags went off in a braking zone. Also saw it happen at Limerock. Hope technology is better today, cutting ignition into the corner could have been more damaging.

Sad story...but thank goodness they abandoned it. If they'd stayed inside the disabled pickup...

Probably overall better the car disabled when airbags go, but in this case, I don't know. Hitting deer is pretty common..can't count the number of times I've come close to nailing one.

They go off if a sensor is tripped. Maybe it takes more than one, I don't know.
Side airbags seem to be worse.

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I see it's on electric cars. I have not heard of it on internal combustion vehicles but the cars I fiddle with are at least 10-15 years old

My truck (f250) has a fuel inertia shutoff switch. It can be reset behind a panel on the dash when you open the passenger door.

i looks like he was steering straight into that IBC container when they went off?
do modern cars inflate airbags BEFORE hitting something??

The more I learn about airbags, the less likely I am to drive a car so equipped without disabling them

Those guys are throwing some really unusual and powerful vectors into the mix.

I would not sweat it unless you drive like that.

My understanding, as some have touched on above, is when an impact is severe enough that airbags deploy, the battery current is disabled. BMW does this by 'shorting' a fusible link in the main power accessory feed by the body control module. It is not serviceable, you have to replace the whole line. i suspect other manufacturers have followed suit. The purpose is to avoid fire or other hazard by shutting down the electrical system.

I did not know they now disable the electrical if deployed, that could be deadly for people who live way up north in the winter when a minor collision leaves them stranded in -40 conditions.