Driver side air bag deployment

[goodvibrations]

A friend and I were discussing driver side airbags. Neither of us were ever in a car when one actually deployed, fortunately. We were curious, what happens to the cover over the airbag in the steering wheel when the air bag deploys? Could the driver be injured from this piece of plastic. Maybe some one who has experienced this first hand could respond.Thanks.

[zionzr2]

First Let me say I do not have any First hand experience in this (Thank God!!)Having said that I do have an idea what is supposed to happen. Key word "Supposed"The plastic on the steering wheel is supposed to rip or split so that the deploying airbag can come through. The Plastic is not supposed to totally leave the sterring wheel as to create shrapnel.(sp?)The passenger side the lid pops up torwards the windshield and hinged on the windshield side.you might search crash test videos on google to see how they deploy in slow motoin.

[ColonelPanic]

Yeah, pretty much just bursts through. Tear seams are molded into the plastic. The passenger's side either has a flip up cover or it bursts through tear seams. The Vibe looks to have the seams, you can see them pretty clearly when looking at the dash.Check out here http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=31770 for a link to high res crash test pics of anything you can imagine. Also, if you do a search for rebuildables on the 'net, you can usually find plenty of pics of wrecked cars and they usually have interior shots to satisfy your morbid curiosity.

[goodvibrations]

People are always so helpful here Thanks for your response. The video from the website you mention gives a good idea of what to expect. Hopefully that is as close as I come to it.

[waveresponder]

sorry i didnt respond to this earlier...lol...what you need to worry about the most is... 1-are you wearing your seatbelt during deployment? 2-are you wearing it properly? 3-are you the right distance away from the airbags, side airbags, driver airbag, and passenger airbag each require a different ammount of minimal spacen in between you and them....correct me if im wrong but if i remember correctly the numbers are about 5, 10, 15...thats in inches...and yes the cover is designed to rip or tear...not become a projectile...most times you can tell that an airbag is deployed because of damage to the lower to middle area of the windshield dirrectly in front of the airbags..if you dont wear your seatbelt properly....your chest/stomach/ribs and so on will have a greater risk of being injured..even if you do wear yourseatbelt...most likely you will still experience some sort of chest discomfort or pain depending on how fast you were going what object you hit or hit you, 35 miles per hour into the back end of a vehicle will most likely cause much less pain then 45MPH+ especially if the object doesn not absorb energy well such as solid objects such as bridges and trees, believe it or not telephone poles are actually supposed to break if you hit them at certain speed....and if you do all of the above...then you have to contend with the "airbag dust" that may get in your eyes and start a burning sensation..avoid rubbing with your hands/fingers as it is probably has also found its way to any part of your skin not covered...as well as on your clothing......rinse with plenty of fluid....this "dust" acts as a lubricant so that the airbag wont stick to itself or other objects..and instead deploy properly....also its usually over before you realized what happened....might have a slight ringing in your ears...as it sometimes sounds like a gunshot...also you may get hit by unrestrained objects in the vehicle...depending on how fast you were going..if you start to roll, turn over and so on...dont forget about others who are riding with you..they too become projectiles....thats why i refuse to drive a vehicle unless all occupants are buckled up...and properly...i believe it is still the drivers responsibility for making sure all occupants are properly using their restraints....and still people wonder why they still get fines/citations even though "I was wearing my seatbelt"...especially when it comes to children in the vehicle....and if you start to roll remember that your arms can exit the windows and break...try your best to keep your arms crossed or grab the passenger next to you.... this is just my general knowledge so far on this topic being that I am a volunteer firefighter and paid emt....and believe it or not i just got home from a vehicle accident with my fire company.....Yellow Chevrolet Cobalt....wrecked.....girl got lucky..was a "signoff"...meaning a no transport to the hospital IMO..you should always get checked out after an accident no matter what it was...you never know if you might have internal injuries...adrenaline is usually pumpin g through your body during and sometimes long after the event has ended..you will be resistant if not totally incapable of feeling the pain until it starts to wear off....especially if you do have insurance...but even if you dont have insurance...you should still make an effort to get checked out....somtimes people dont want to go in the ambulance....that doesnt mean they cant still go with a friend, family member, or someone else.....its better to find out sooner than later if everythings alright or somethings wrong....