Miata Mailing List: May 1998, Message #122

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I chatted with a Miata owner the other day on the street in Santa Rosa, CA.
He said it was his 2nd Miata.  The first had been totalled from a head-on
accident and he claimed the air bag saved his life.  Said he only had a few
broken ribs and of course, ringing in his ears from the noise of the air bag
deploying. 

Don Scott


At 05:14 PM 5/2/98 +0000, you wrote:
>Sorry to hear about your injuries and loss.  What is the 
>answer to the big question; Will you disconnect the air bag 
>in the new car or not?
>
>Jerry ('95 White)
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From:	BIOMED HMC [SMTP:BIOMEDHMC@aol.com]
>Sent:	Saturday, May 02, 1998 11:50 AM
>To:	Multiple recipients of list
>Subject:	Real Stats on Airbags (NMoreMC)
>
>Well, sorry to say, NO MORE MIATA CONTENT -- I believe that 
>I had a
>STATISTICAL AIRBAG ACCIDENT on the 14th of April.  Been 
>watching this thread
>about airbags:
>
>Statistics include:
>
>  One totaled '90 white MIATA2D.  From the discussion, 
>STAT: the impact was
>from 12 o'clock, head-on.  A lady pulled out of a bank 
>parking lot in the
>middle of the block, got to the middle of a busy four-lane 
>highway, and
>stopped.  She left me no place to go except into oncoming 
>traffic.  I T-boned
>her car going at an undetermined, but moderate, rate of 
>speed.  However, I've
>always had good brakes and even upgraded the brake system 
>-- smoke everywhere
>!! -- from all four tires and the airbag (you really can't 
>see anything after
>the airbag fills).
>
>  Two broken hands.  One broken wrist.  If you hold the 
>steering wheel really
>really tight, trying to brace for the impact (ten and two 
>always), the airbag
>will make your hands leave the wheel, anyway.  STAT: The 
>airbag is actually
>larger than is the steering wheel.  When it "inflates" / 
>"fills" it will
>remove your hands from the steering wheel area.
>
>  I wear glasses.  No head, neck, or chest injury or pain 
>ever.  I kept my
>glasses on my face.  I'm 5'10' and 200#.
>
>  My two cents worth.  I believe that I'll survive to drive 
>another day.  The
>airbag DID CAUSE THE INJURIES to my hands and arms -- that 
>really biases my
>opinion about the airbag.  I find it a little difficult to 
>use the keyboard
>and I can't return to work, yet.  But, it probably did 
>protected me from
>injury to my head, neck, and chest -- not a scratch here -- 
>not even a bruise
>that I could complain about.
>
>  Wishes.  Just make the airbag SMALLER.  Advice drivers 
>making those mid-
>block left-hand turns across multiple lanes of traffic that 
>other cars have no
>-- place -- else -- to -- go.  When I can drive again, 
>please have a leather
>package available at the dealership for me -- in Emerald 
>Mica.
>
>
>