The Traffic Accident Reconstruction Origin -ARnews-

Re: air bags

Wilt Nelson (WIL7MO@aol.com)
Sun, 17 May 1998 13:42:00 -0400 (EDT)

It is not unusual for a minor or low injury threshold crash to be expensive to repair on newer cars. Just the bumper,grille and perhaps a fender or radiator could total well over $3K. However, if the sensor threshold for the air bag is not reached the system won't deploy. A 12 mph threshold is where minor injury begins. This could be as much as a fx arm, facial injuries, bruises, etc. A 12 mph threshold is approx. equivalent to hitting a parked car of the same mass at 24 mph.
Were you injured? What specific injuries, if any? The bag deploys at a speed of up to 200 mph and has enough energy to move anything in front of it that is not fixed. If your chest is against it (Out of the normal seated position) your sternum will be mashed against your backbone. If your head is up against it the head may end up separated from your body. BThese are extremes but they have occurred. Believe me, you may be lucky it didn't deploy. Save your self the cost of hiring an attorney to hear the same thing in court by checking out what severity of crash you had.
Wilt
Wilt Nelson
WIL7MO@aol.com

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