Accident...side curtain airbags didn't deploy

[90503]

Originally Posted by gajagfan

My first thought with any accident is that I hope all are OK. It sounds like you folks, and the other driver, are going to be alright, and that is the only real thing that matters. The car looks terrible right now, but we know they can fix it. As far as the air bags, and whether they should have deployed or not, I would want to find out, but I think there is one thing we as owners need to keep in mind. From what I understand, these bodies are aluminum. If this is the case, I think damage is going to look much worse, and accidents that look like bags should have gone off may not. If this is not the case, maybe someone can set me straight!

I think I've seen more frontal impacts where it was surprising that the air-bags didn't go off....Apparently not all of those crashes met the criteria to deploy, either...

....Still, it does make you wonder....Air-bags, imo, are a supplemental and last resort for a serious crash...lower speeds, front or side, wear your seat-belts. They prevent injury more than air-bags...

[Angrybird 12]

Please read this again from the NHTSA on side air bag deployment:

Side airbags: Because of the small space between an occupant and the side of the vehicle, side airbags must deploy very quickly to cushion occupants from intruding vehicles or objects. Some airbags typically deploy within the first 10-20 milliseconds of a side crash. "Must deploy" thresholds can be as low as 8 mph for narrow object crashes (e.g., trees and poles) and 18 mph for the more distributed side crashes (vehicle-to-vehicle crashes). Several auto manufacturers deploy the side airbags in frontal crashes to help control occupant movement during the rebound phase of a crash.

According to the criteria here the impact would not have caused the side airbag to deploy.

Originally Posted by gajagfan

My first thought with any accident is that I hope all are OK. It sounds like you folks, and the other driver, are going to be alright, and that is the only real thing that matters. The car looks terrible right now, but we know they can fix it. As far as the air bags, and whether they should have deployed or not, I would want to find out, but I think there is one thing we as owners need to keep in mind. From what I understand, these bodies are aluminum. If this is the case, I think damage is going to look much worse, and accidents that look like bags should have gone off may not. If this is not the case, maybe someone can set me straight!

Our cars are not aluminum, just the hood is aluminum. The body is still steel.

[Est.July.4.1776]

Originally Posted by H8S FORD

This is what's wrong with this country- this individual had no information about the incident yet; no direction or speed of travel, angle of impact, etc. The OP posted this after! However, he automatically jumps to the conclusion of sue! If you want to know why we can't have t-tops on our Camaros, it's because people like this would sue if the side curtains did in fact go off and cause the tops to break and send glass on the occupants. Screwed either way- sue, sue, sue! Check the facts on the operation of the equipment and the circumstances of the incident before dragging a company's name through the mud. People like you my friend have ruined many things in life for the rest of us.

Off my soap box now...

To the OP, hope your family is okay! I gave up my C6 for my SS so that I could take my newborn son to child care (here in Commiefornia, it is illegal to place any child in a carseat, in the front seat of a vehicle, regardless of whether that vehicle has a backseat or not), so this is a little alarming. God bless and good luck!

Dave

Actually I'm pretty sure he said "May" have grounds for a lawsuit, not "SUE THE MOTHER F'ERS," and secondly, if the safety equipment doesn't perform when it should, yet GM's explanation on why side impact airbags deploy during aggressive driving is that the car's computer has only milliseconds to determine whether to deploy or not... definitely seems hokey to me... I'd say what's more so wrong with this country is irrational people jumping to emotion based assertions...

OP, hope your wife comes out of this with no lasting effects, and I hope you find the answers you need, be it in the courtroom or not.

[gajagfan]

Originally Posted by Angrybird 12

Please read this again from the NHTSA on side air bag deployment:

Side airbags: Because of the small space between an occupant and the side of the vehicle, side airbags must deploy very quickly to cushion occupants from intruding vehicles or objects. Some airbags typically deploy within the first 10-20 milliseconds of a side crash. "Must deploy" thresholds can be as low as 8 mph for narrow object crashes (e.g., trees and poles) and 18 mph for the more distributed side crashes (vehicle-to-vehicle crashes). Several auto manufacturers deploy the side airbags in frontal crashes to help control occupant movement during the rebound phase of a crash.

According to the criteria here the impact would not have caused the side airbag to deploy.



Our cars are not aluminum, just the hood is aluminum. The body is still steel.

Thanks. I was not sure of that. I was believing the aluminum deal because I have a very small, hard to see, dent in the front passenger fender and assumed someone had bumped it coming out of the door that is near that area of the car when it is parked. Thanks for the info. Good to know!

[90503]

Originally Posted by gajagfan

Thanks. I was not sure of that. I was believing the aluminum deal because I have a very small, hard to see, dent in the front passenger fender and assumed someone had bumped it coming out of the door that is near that area of the car when it is parked. Thanks for the info. Good to know!

Well, although it's not aluminum, it's still an all time thin steel...Just don't confuse it with old Detroit iron...lol....

[gajagfan]

Originally Posted by 90503

Well, although it's not aluminum, it's still an all time thin steel...Just don't confuse it with old Detroit iron...lol....

Amen to that. I nearly dent the quarter panels when I wash it!

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by gajagfan

Amen to that. I nearly dent the quarter panels when I wash it!

I think it's about the same thickness as the paint, and we all know how thin that is...

[TwistedEnergy]

Glad your kids are OK and hope your wife will be back to 100% very soon.

On a side note, a buddy of mine worked on designing the air bag control modules for our cars. Most of his work was put into the 2010's though. We always joked that if I ever got into an accident and my airbag didn't go off. He would be the first one to get an angry call from me.

But as others have said it is a complex system and designed to react to impact very quickly. If it didn't deploy chances are the computer calculated that it was not necessary. And it would be a lot more expensive to fix if they would have.

[spyderbuddy]

Man I know how it feels, Going to cost me 3000 to have mine fixed.

[SGG]

Nine years as a collision investigator I would have to say that the collision does not look that serious (judging by the photos only). Hard to judge without seeing photos of any intrusion into the passenger compartment. If you have a friend on a local police department you can ask them to download the "black box" info and see what was going on. Since there was no deployment the data will only be there for a certain amount of ignition turns before it is overwritten.

[mySSt]

GM may choose to have TRW download the SDM (airbag module) info. It does record data when "an event" is recorded, even if the computer decided "the event" isn't enough to deploy the bags or belts. The report will contain some info on forward acceleration, lateral accel, roll angle, etc - but they will not give you the entire report, namely the conclusion pages. I can only deduce what GM really wants to pull the data for and not provide the entire report. Like some others have said, the data is overwritten after some number of ignition cycles. Good luck with the repairs.

[sanjosebmx]

Originally Posted by fcatch76

I am not sue happy and just want to know if the bags should have deployed. The story is not being exaggerated or embellished. I will talk to Chevy about it but in the long run I still feel proud to own this car and feel it was built like a tank. I drove my car home, the hummer had to be towed by a flat bed. That's gotta say something for the car....now I just hope it can be fixed...I don't want a different car, I want MY car.


And yes, the Windows were down, but the collision caused the glass to get through the door and onto the kids. Sunroof was open, did not shatter.

good to know the car my family travels in can withstand an impact from a really large vehicle..

I hope there are no long term injuries for your wife. My wife was in an accident in our '62 Nova (yeah..bummer) and her shoulder hit the side of the door, seemed like a bad bruise at the time, but 15 years later, that shoulder still gives her trouble.

[Number 3]

First, hope everyone recovers physically and emotionally a crash is rough no matte what. Simply tensing up from the impact and even anticipation of the impact can leave you sore for some time.

Angrybird has done all the research and posted what I would have posted. I've done Safety and Crashworthiness and there are so many factors that have to be considered. It isn't simply matter of being hit or hitting something. The sensors have to detect acceleration in the correct direction to deploy. Based on the peel of the door, it looks like it wasn't a direct side impact but a side hit from the front quarter. If a Hummer hit you pure side impact the damage would be across a much wider area of the side of your Camaro, likely wheel to wheel.

Also for those questioning the "American Steel", the door outer panel is pretty much decorative. What protects you is the door beam. This is typically a high strength or martensitic steel which is far stronger than the rest of the door sheetmetal alone could ever accomplish. It spans the hinges to the latch.

Modern cars are wonders for absorbing the energy of pretty severe crashes. Just watching a frontal or side impact test is pretty intense. Being involved in one is a completely different level.

Again, hope everyone is ok, but from what you described and what I see in the photo, I'm not surprised the SIAB did not deploy.

[fcatch76]

The door panel was compressed against the dash and passenger seat. You can see the dash folded around the vent and you cant close the glove box. If you try to recline the seat you get lots of friction from the door panel. Of course the interior panel is separated from the outer so glass was everywhere, on my kids, in their seats, all over wife and some on me , but for me most was at my feet on the floor. It was definately something I will never forget.