Im glad thats all that happened to him, but it looks like it didnt hit hard enough to trigger the sensors.

Why did the passenger side airbag go off if this is the case?

What happened to the other car?

I don't know for sure if the Z has a passenger occupant sensor, however if it does not and you get into a crash, the vehicle computer assumes that the driver, since he is wearing his seatbelt would be ok with just the seatbelt and does not deploy the airbag. The passenger on the other hand, the vehicle decides does not have their seatbelt on and in order to protect the passenger who is not belted in, the airbag deploys.

Airbags were originally designed to assist with drivers who were not belted in. This however led to deaths for folks who sat too close to the airbags and they came out with dual stage airbags which had two settings for belted and unbelted passengers as well as the rate at which a vehicle came to a stop due to an impact, measured by a decelerometer (spelled right?). If the force, speed and deceleration meet a certain criteria that is in the preprogrammed algorithm in the vehicles' brain then the airbag would deploy.

The reason I say maybe the Z does not have an occupant sensor is that, some systems will actually recognize that there is no front passenger and not deploy the passenger side airbag. This is true for the side airbag as well. If someone in taking a nap and has their head or body too close to the location of the side airbag. The side airbag will not deploy, because the impact of the airbag would do more harm than good. This the same type of reason why they do not want your child safety seat up front.

My thanks for VQ for putting them up. when i hit, i hit at 35MPH head DEAD ON with the other guys rear tire/side as you can see from the tire marks on bumper. the sensors were hit, but my airbag should have gone off i believe. they are investigating it, and i will take it from there...

the other car's driver side rear wheel was bent inward. his rear end was on the ground, when i hit him he did a 180 and i got out of my poor car to ask him what the heck he was thinking!

His jaw was dropped and he just stared at my car.. he couldnt believe that he had gotten in an accident with a car "that nice" and he had just gotten his insurance the DAY BEFORE! luckily we both have the same insurance company, so things should get fixed quickly... total in damages reached just over 8500.00 including labor.

PS... do you guys suggest me getting a veilside version 3 hood and version 2 bumper? or just stick with the stock stuff..

any info would be appreciated.

What kind of car was he driving? And ya if your car hit at 35 the air bag should have gone off if it did that kind of damage to your bumper and I'm guessing your hood. Sigh its amazing on poor judgement decisions people make sometimes.

the car the moron was driving was a 1987 chevy cavalier..... it was totaled because the rear end was basically massacered..

by the way i call him the moron because it's an inside joke.... when i called 911 the first thing that i said was "yes i just hit a moron" it was instant. i was so mad at the moment and sick to my stomache from looking at what happend.. heh...

Ouch. Make sure to take good care of your neck - you only get one from the manufacturer and repair's are a *****.

I hear that!

Good to hear your pretty much ok.








(psst - take him to the cleaners!)

If your neck is basically OK, try not to get too crazy with the "pain and suffering" crap. We all see enough of that (especially me) and all it does is make EVERYTHING cost more for everyone else and line the pockets of the PI lawyers. If I see one more ridiculous huckster-like commercial for malpractice or personal injury, I'm gonna puke.

Ok let me defend myself about the neck injury, I had 5 xrays taken, I am suffering from sporatic muscular twitching, and a very sore stiff neck. i'm on pain medication to help. and my doctor is reccomending me to a physical therapist...

I am not trying to screw anybody. I am simply seekin compensation for what has happend to me. I hope this is seen as something that I don't really want to do, but I'm doing it because i'm covered and i want things to be alright with my neck.

I'm sure Dr Bonz just meant if you are not experiencing anything. I can attest that neck injuries and back pain almost always show up after the fact. I always thought people who tried to claim it later were scammers. I got rear ended once and told them I felt fine, well, the next day I was in some bad pain, and was for about a week. I ended up just going to a chiropractor a few times and it was paid for. My reccomendation is if anyone gets in a wreck, say that you do not have any pain at that time, but that you won't make a decision on if you wish to claim any medical complications for a few days for this reason.

I have no problem with getting reimbursed for any LEGITIMATE medical expenses, like for your ER visit (if you had one), your X-Rays, your doctors visit, and for a REASONABLE amount of PT.

Where it starts to get ridiculous is when you go to PT or a Chiropractor or a massage therapist three times a week for 3 months (I've seen it A LOT longer) and expect THAT to be covered.

Also, this "PAIN AND SUFFERING" BS is a joke. We all experience some degree of pain every day and never get PAID for it. If you go out and wash and wax your car and your back hurts do you sue Nissan or Zaino for that? (aaaah, PI lawyers out there, please don't get any ideas).

Everyone today is a "victim". This is CRAP!

I agree with you Bonz. the world today when it comes to money is somewhat out of control. 75-80 billion for a war? SURE here ya go!

Ummm. I don’t know what airbags were designed for originally but I am certain that airbags do not work alone in any modern car. Also, the computer cannot assume anything (maybe sometime in the future). The airbags are designed to assist the drivers who ARE belted in. I am pretty sure that if the driver does not wear a seatbelt the airbag will not go off. I believe that is true for any car made today. The reasoning is that the airbag inflates instantaneously (about 200mph). It is almost like an explosion. Your body has to hit the airbag AFTER it inflates. Your seatbelt slows your body down giving the airbag enough time to open up. If you were not wearing a seatbelt you would be in the airbag inflation zone – it would explode in your face and probably kill you.

I think what you are trying to say is that airbags were originally designed for full grown adults who were belted in. Unfortunately they found that in real world that did not work for smaller occupants (children, shorter people etc.). Hence they came up with a dual stage airbag. It is for BELTED passengers only. It has two igniters: one (less powerful) for a smaller person who is presumed to sit closer to the wheel and the other (more powerful) for a heavier/taller person. At the end one igniter is still unused.

Given all that, I am very uncomfortable looking at the pictures when I see that the driver’s airbag did not go off and the passenger one did go off. The computer cannot assume that the driver will be ok or not ok. I think the criteria for airbag deployment is something like a car hitting a wall at 12-15mph (correct me if I am wrong) - so the drivers airbag should have definitely gone off.

Alex, I hope you feel better and keep us updated.

Dmitry

Sorry to hear about Alex. Get better soon, dude!

I didn't realize the engine compartment has a cupholder. Cool, hehe.

Steve

Actually, you're mistaken. :) Airbags WILL deploy if you're not belted. However, airbags work much better if you ARE belted - obviously.

Ok I am now more confused than when I started. I know for a fact that in a Honda accord (1999 model or so) the airbag will not open if you are not belted in. After doing a little bit of research I guess it depends a type of car or an airbag deployment system. I am guessing that with a dual stage system the airbag will open regardless of the seatbelt. So DBZ's statement was more correct than I thought.

Reading my manual “The system monitors information from the crash zone sensor . . . and seat belt buckle sensor that detect if the seat belts are fastened, inflator operation is based on the severity of collision and whether the seat belts are being used. Only ONE airbag may inflate in a crash (wtf?), depending on the crash severity and whether the front occupants are belted or unbelted.”

What the hell does that mean? Only one airbag inflates? Or should I assume that only one inflator is used but both the airbags can deploy. Can someone please elaborate on this issue. If DBZ is correct (no passenger side sensor so if the driver is buckled the passenger airbag deploys regardless whether there is a passenger) this is a really poor design IMHO.

LOL - that airbag chapter in the manual is pretty damn vague. I wonder why :-)

Dmitry

sorry about the wrecked hope you will be ok. i too wrecked my car has been down for six weeks. i know the passenger air bag will not be avaliable till april 12