Ru55e11

We all drive to different standards right? Some flawlessly, others recklessly and all other definitions inbetween.

Most modern cars have airbags and we drive to whatever standard in the knowledge that, in the event of an accident, these airbags will save our lives.

But what if instead of an airbag popping out, we were told that a six inch metal spike would pop out? Would we all drive safer?

Would it irradicate speeding, tail gating and driving like a loony? Would we all use our cars less for short/unessesary journeys as every drive would be a calculated risk?

The spike will never happen of course but might airbags actually cause accidents as they encourage subconcious complacency?

Russ

brybusa

True....theres some evidence to support that...if I nip down the shops on my (motor) bike i might put some jeans on and ride a lot slower, i put my leathers on and ride faster...

Im sure it'd make us all think a bit more but I cant see it making legislation just yet!

KiwiGTI

The mother-in-law would be doing a lot more driving

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

This point was raised in show program I saw a few years back looking at car safety. They looking at the design of a 1950's steering wheel which effectively had 3 sharp metal blades and the boss in the middle would do serious damage to your face in a crash. it made no difference at the time as it was the norm. Drive one today however and the perceived lack of safety may well make the driver more aware.....

cw42

iTrader: (1)

There's been lots of research in the usa of how airbags have actually contributed to accidents due to the fact people feel safer in cars with an airbag. Also, injuries sustained in an airbag equiped car are more likely to involve the lower torso and legs, and be more severe due to the general higher speed involved these day So they're not all good.

AndyK

A great clarkson quote. Not sure it was original to him but at least give him some credit.

Scoob99

iTrader: (1)

Not so CW42, As a postman, I was involved in a very serious head on smash 10 years ago, If it had not been for the airbag, I would be dead, I was on duty at the time and a drunk driver hit me head on at over 100mph, thankfully the van I was in was new and the first fleet of small vans(escort) to be fitted with airbags, The Traffic officer who attended my smash had to radio through what they thought the situation was on arrival, and they radioed it through as a fatal, but when the paramedics told them I was still alive they could not beleive it, combined impact speed 175mph the airbag saved my life but my legs were smashed and they thought my back was broken but thankfully that was not the case, the van did what it was designed to do in a head on smash, split in 2 and the engine and gearbox was found about 30 yards up the road.
Cheers
Colin

JamieMacdonald

Same applies with ABS:

Dracoro

Same applies to brakes, seatbelts, drivers cabin etc.

We all (well not all) try to drive as safely as we think it necessary but the car around you does play a point. I know I drive my Westfield much cautiously and faster btw than my Audi A6. As passengers have told me, they feel very safe with my driving in both cars. I drive better in the Westie but I don't drive worse in the Audi I just drive normally. However, knowing human psychology as it is, I'm sure many have lowered their standards in big new safe cars. I notice this when cycling to work, all the small cars tend to give me plenty of room whereas all the SUVs and vans get a bit too close for my liking, they just lose their awareness.

Mitchy260

Im another greatful for an airbag saving my life, but im sure it also caused me some damage!

I ploughed into a field at around 120mph, rolled over a few times and car settled and lay on its roof! I remember nothing of the actual impact but managed to crawl out through a hole that was not a door or a window

When i went to see the damage to my car in the scrap yard, everything was covered in blood, the roof lining, the dashboard, the front screen, and the airbag!

The only injuries i sustained were 2 deep cuts to the back of my head and a deep cut to my right forearm! My head required about 15-20 staples to close the cut back up and about the same again in stitches to my right arm.

However to this day, i have no idea how i managed to cut open the back of my head! I think ive hit the airbag with so much force, that the impact catapulted my head back through my drivers window?

I'll never really know what happened but i think if i had smashed my face into the steering wheel at the speed mentioned i would certainly not be here.

Ru55e11

Some interesting points people - thankyou.

I am in no doubt that in the event of an accident, the depoyment of the airbag does save lives. However my point is would the scenerio to have that accident ever have come about should a spike be involved?

Surely we'd all drive less full stop, let alone drive safer due to every journey being a high stakes gamble. Problems with noise, polution and congestion would all be resolved aswell as the accident rate slashed.

The warnings to not drive in adverse weather conditions would suddenly be heeded as the risks would be even higher and track days would be like dicing with death!

All this is starting to sound like a policy the government should consider

Russ

Brit_in_Japan

The reality is actually quite complex. There is evidence to show that people drive in a way which reflects how safe they feel in the car. The safer they feel, the faster they drive, the more agressively they drive, the later they brake etc. It's called risk compensation theory. When they introduced compulsory front seat belt wearing, there was no statistically significant drop in the number of deaths and serious injuries in road accidents. If a whole population of drivers drive faster, when accidents do happen they will be more severe it will offset some of the improved safety that seat belts should bring. Compulsory rear seat belt wearing on the other hand resulted in a step decrease of deaths and serious injuries to rear seat passengers.

The interesting question is whether people really have the perception of increased safety from airbags? You don't really see them, you can't feel their presence like you can a seat belt. I'm not sure that people really do alter their behaviour because of air bags, which would make them very effective safety devices.

Similarly other improvements in car safety, soft impact areas, deformable steering wheels, retracting steering columns etc, not to mention the vast improvement in the performance of crumple zones and door bars, don't really change the drivers perception of safety either. I've read reports which show that Volvo drivers (and lots of SUVs for that matter) are not the safest drivers on the road statistically. The cars may be excellent in a standard crash test, but because of the perceived safety that Volvo drivers feel, some of them tend to drive faster and therefore have have bigger accidents !

A big spike in the middle of the steering wheel would undoubtedly change the perception of safety and the driver would likely moderate their speed and take more care. Maybe an airbag cunningly disguised as a big spike would be the ultimate safety device

Fuzz

I'd have to say it doesn't make the slightest difference with me.
Hardly ever remember to put the seat belt on and drive like a **** when I'm in the subaru.
Neither the scoob or the 106 has airbags anyway.


Andy

dbmica

apparantly with most modern cars, if you are not wearing your seat belt the airbag wont deploy. i dont know if this is true or not

Mitchy260

I cant believe anyone is stupid enough nowadays to not wear a seatbelt!

Its a natural reaction for me to get in, sit down, turn on engine and then reach for the seatbelt.

I dont understand people who dont wear 1? For what reason would you not

Suresh

It's not such a bad thing. In the event of a normally survivable impact, the non-wearers would probably be removed from the gene pool.

Nido

If you are not wearing a seatbelt an airbag can do more harm than good. Slow impact (say in town) but just enough to set the airbag off means you (without seatbelt) would be thrown towards the steering wheel, airbag pops out of steering weel, stops head travelling to far forward as it's supposed to, but your body continues travelling forward.

Result from a minor impact that probably would have been nothing too serious without belt/airbag is very damaged / broken neck. This is why some modern cars (but not that many still) will not deploy the frontal airbags if a belt is not being worn

Dracoro

It's not so much the airbag per se, it's the size of them. In the US they don't have to wear seatbelts so they have much larger airbags to compensate. Be so much easier for them to make seatbelts compulsory but that's americans for you

Anyway, whenever people talk about airbags, it reminds me of the scene in Naked Gun

Scoob99

iTrader: (1)

I was told if I had not had my seat belt on when I had my accident the speed the air bag deplys 200mph or 2 millseconds on impact IT could brake your neck, told to me by the Traffic officer who took care of my case.
Cheers
Colin