Airbags are an essential part of vehicle safety. They protect passengers during collisions. Airbags are effective, but experience wear and tear. When airbags experience wear and tear, they fail to deploy. Other reasons occur for airbags not deploying. We look at reasons why airbags do not work.
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What are Airbags?
Airbags, according to Illinois law, are motor vehicle inflatable occupant restraint system devices that are part of a vehicle’s supplemental restraint system. They aren’t the main system of seatbelt restraints, but additional safety devices. Different configurations in a vehicle depend on the vehicle, with driver and front passenger, side-curtain, and seat-mounted.
Some vehicles have door-mounted, mounted side-impact, knee bolster, and inflatable seat belt airbags. Pedestrian airbag modules on a vehicle’s exteriors are designed to cushion the impact on pedestrians.
How Do Airbags Deploy?
An airbag deployment is part of a system. Before airbags deploy, sensors in the front of the car, acting within less than a second of the collision, determine if the impact is severe enough for airbags to deploy. If the crash is serious, inflators fill the airbags, and the process is quick, less than 0.05 of a second. Airbags throughout a vehicle prevent passengers from colliding with the vehicle’s interior.
The airbags protect passengers by spreading an impact’s energy over a greater surface to minimize a collision’s force on the body.
When Airbags Don’t Deploy
Airbags don’t deploy for many reasons. Some reasons are due to wear and tear, accidents, and manufacturing liability. Reasons airbags don’t deploy are:
Defective Sensors
Faulty collision sensors may not detect collision impact. Even severe accidents may not be enough to trigger airbags.
Electrical Problems
Vehicle electrical issues can disrupt sensing and signals needed for airbag deployment. A vehicle with faulty electrical systems endangers occupants with sensing and signal disruption.
Previous Vehicle Crash Damage
Damage from previous car accidents might wear and tear airbag systems, causing them to not function. For example, a collision might cause damage to sensors, airbag inflators, or other parts of an airbag system.
Defective Software
Modern vehicles rely more on software to deliver system functions and safety. Defective software coding or hardware can make airbag deployment unreliable.
Driver and Passenger Factors
Driver and passenger factors matter in airbag deployment. Airbags may not deploy if vehicle occupants aren’t wearing seatbelts properly. The airbags may not protect vehicle occupants seated far from the airbags.
Vehicle Factors
Airbag non-deployment depends on numerous factors. Some factors not related to system defects are problems with vehicles. Airbags may not deploy based on the force and angle of a collision impact. Severe vehicle damage and subsequent battery power loss from electrical system failure affect airbag functioning.
Manufacturing Errors
Manufacturing errors may contribute to airbag non-deployment. An example is the now-defunct Takata Corporation which sold airbags with defective inflators. The Takata Corporation was a Japanese automotive parts company that manufactured seat belt parts and airbag parts.
The defective Takata airbag inflators have led to forty known deaths worldwide and numerous injuries. Injuries and fatalities occurred when the airbag activated during a crash and explosive reactions between propellants caused the metal inflator housing to rupture. Pieces of the airbus housing as shrapnel would strike vehicle occupants with fatal consequences.
The root of the problem was in its manufacturing where defective airbags used ammonium-nitrate-based propellant without a chemical drying agent. Environmental moisture, high temperatures, and age affected these chemicals so they were rendered useless causing improperly inflated airbags and sending shrapnel into vehicle occupants.
Liability
Liabilities for personal injuries or wrongful death in airbag non-deployment vary according to each situation. In cases such as the Takata defective airbags, personal injury or wrongful death is a liability for the corporation.
You may not know who to turn to when you have questions about airbags and car accidents. At Thomas Law Office we are here to inform and help. Contact us today.
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