Safety Airbags: Do you have to have them?

I know they have to come on all vehicles, but is it law you have to keep them? The xB is the first ride i've ever had that has airbags. I don't like the idea of something blowing up in my face during a wreck.

A few years back I hit a deer and went off the road and barely pulled back up from going into the trees. If I would have had an airbag, I would have eaten the tree.

 

Laws and their enforcement vary from state to state. Todays air bag systems are pretty smart. They will not deploy unless you get a frontal impact equivalent to hitting a solid barrier head on at about 30 MPH. A deer hit is generally unlikely to deploy them. I have seen lots and lots of collision damaged cars. There are very few that have had bags deploy where it looked like they might have been a problem rather than a help in the incident. I would say leave them active as they are designed into the car to work with the cars structure to save lives in the event of a frontal (or side for those with side airbags) collision. Todays systems take into account seat position, and the force and angle of the impact. Generally they are very good. Just be sure to wear your seatbelt as well, as the bags are designed assuming that the seatbelt is being worn as well.

 

Lots of conspiracy-nut types like to hate on airbags, but if you read any actual research, the only reason you should worry about airbags is if you are:

-an infant in a rear-facing carseat placed in the front seat (totally illegal for exactly this reason)
-a person under five feet tall with the seat all the way forward, or
-a seven-years-old girl (also with the seat all the way forward)

Other than that, I'd be less worried about that great big balloon inflating in front of you, and more worried about the big chunk of stationary material you're travelling toward at 45 mph, i.e. the steering wheel.

E ery other anecdotes I've ever heard about airbags causing mayhem are either made up, or so rare that they are insufficient reason for behavior changes (like the deer incident). My manager at work once forgot his seatbelt in his SUV; as it happened, the truck flipped, he was thrown clear and landed in a haystack, whereas his truck hit a tree and blew up. If he'd been wearing a seatbelt, he'd have been cooked alive.

And yet, he still wears a seatbelt.

Leave the airbag alone.

 

I have seen a few black eyes and bruises from airbag deployment, BUT the people involved thought the black eye was better than eating the steering wheel and windshield...I hope not to find out for myself and trust it is going to work if I need it.