Does an airbag really buy you anything?

[silver912e]

I've often seen people refer to modern airbag cars as "safer" just because of the airbag.

Suppose you got into an accident in an airbag equipped 911 that was bad enough to deploy the front airbag. If you had the same accident in a "vintage" 911 and were wearing a good factory seatbelt, do you think you would be worse off just because the airbag didn't restrain you? I just don't see it doing much more than the seatbelt except giving you rugburn on your face & arms.

[Superman]

Seat belts do not stop your head. Steering wheels do not stay in place.

[URY914]

You're kidding right?

Air bags are no safer than a seat belt?

[MattKellett]

Having an airbag with a seat belt is obviously more safe than just a seatbelt.

But if you're implying not using a seatbelt because you have an airbag - then yes, if the choice was one or the other, the seatbelt offers better protection!!!

An airbag is not a restraining device, I guess it could be described as a cushioning device.

[Joeaksa]

Ask the people riding in Princess Diana's Mercedes about that. Only one of them has his seatbelt on and only one person survived.

Guess I will keep wearing my belt even though I have bags in half of my cars.

[targa911S]

It gets you a more expensive car of course.

[kstar]

Song based on a true event:

In the next world war
In a jackknifed juggernaut
I am born again

In the neon sign
Scrolling up and down
I am born again

In an interstellar burst
I am back to save the universe

In a deep deep sleep of the innocent
I am born again

In a fast german car
I'm amazed that I survived
An airbag saved my life

In an interstellar burst
I am back to save the universe

In an interstellar burst
I am back to save the universe

Song by Radiohead, the survivor is Thom Yorke.

[scottmandue]

My brother was driving his F-150 in a downpour in Oregon, went off the road and into a redwood.

Totaled the truck and the seat belt bruised him pretty badly, pretty sure he would not have survived without the air bag.

YMMV

[jyl]

Passenger vehicle seatbelts do not always fit tightly, are not always worn correctly, and will give several inches (delay in mechanism plus belt stretch) in a severe accident. Combination of these means that occupant can be badly injured even with seatbelt.

I spent years doing auto product liability litigation, examined scores of cases where this happened.

Race car belts, that's different, airbags wouldn't add anything there.

[Moses]

Airbags dramatically reduce the rick of basilar skull fractures after impact. Airbags are an absolute requirement for my kids cars.

[teenerted1]

Originally Posted by targa911S

It gets you a more expensive car of course.

how do you buy a modern car without an airbag?

[VINMAN]

After 17 yrs of cutting people out of cars as a firefighter , I can truely say, the airbag is one of the greatest invention ever made. Ive seen more lifes saved by them then I can think of.

But..... an airbag without a seatbelt can kill you.

[Dixie]

Air bags are great. There's probably nothing in recent history that has saved so many people as airbags.

I'll propose that stability control is a better safety feature.

[oldE]

"I'll propose that stability control is a better safety feature"

To say nothing of driver training which actually means something.

I've gotten used to looking at the icon which proclains there are airbags in my vehicles. I just hope I never have to see what one looks like deployed.

Drive safe.
Les