They used to require THREE criteria :
1 > weight on drivers seat above 10 pounds 2 > some forward motion based on wheels turning 3 > TWO SIMULTANEOUS DISLODGED MAGNETIZED BALL BEARINGS IN SEALED DETECTORS ON BOTH SIDES OF CAR. TWO.
Hitting a car with a sledgehammer did not trigger airbags, unless two sledgehammers, plus car rolling, plus something on drivers seat.
NOW IN RECENT YEARS :
ONLY TWO criteria , and tire motion not one of them.
This is why airbags deployed in that clip, but never would have in 1995.
Why did they remove that criteria? My guess is someone get hit head on while stopped and airbags didn't deploy but the drive then smacked his face against the dash with no bags. I bet it happened a few times. Someone in a left turn lane with no median could get hit any time a drunk driver fails to go straight through an intersection.
THAT fact, plus new fact that modern airbags ignore saving lives of 250 pound males (original criteria) and set for 150 pound people. Too many 9 years olds had entire faces bones smashed in when sitting in passenger seat.
21 years ago, arguments to eliminate saving large men and save more womens lives : https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/web_doc_may04_0.pdf
so they slowed the bags down from highway speeds, and lowered the explosive charge for non-football-player males.
doing both of those made less lawsuits for harmed people in PARKED CARS getting hit potentially, so they added parked cars allowed to have airbags deploy if driver in seat and keys in ignition.... i presume.
I still don't understand why it didn't go off when he hit the pole or maybe I'm missing something?
i would assume incase your car gets hit while youre stopped
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