The Traffic Accident Reconstruction Origin -ARnews-

Re: Side air bags - activation after accident

Greg Russell (Greg_Cathy@msn.com)
Sat, 21 Feb 1998 20:17:07 -0500 (EST)

Below, the contents of the NHTSA teletype regarding side impact airbags

13:48 12/12/97

Request National Broadcast
Attn: All Law Enforcement and Public Safety Agencies

The following message is being sent by NLETS at the request of the National Highway Safety Administration

SLIM JIM INCIDENTS UNFOUNDED

Over the past several months, a number of bulletin and stories have been circulating throughout the law enforcement and emergency services community about side impact airbag deployments resulting from the use of a slim jim. These bulletins claim that an officer, using a slim jim was injured or killed while attempting to open a locked driver’s door of a vehicle equipped with side impact airbags. The National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) has researched these claims and has discussed this issue with manufactures of vehicles equipped with side impact airbags. NHTSA has been unable to verify that any incidents of the types described have occurred.
Additionally, NHTSA contacted the manufactures of vehicles equipped with side impact airbags, who categorically state that it is IMPOSSIBLE to deploy the side impact airbags using a slim jim from the outside of their vehicles.
For further information and to report incidents related to this subject, contact:

The NHTSA special crash investigation:
24 hour voice mail # (202) 493-0400
24 hour facsimile # (202) 366-5374
Internet E-mail address: Airbag.crash@NHTSA.dot.gov

Greg Russell
Greg_Cathy@msn.com

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