I recently received a safety recall notice on my Honda Accord. It seems that there was a defect in the inflator for the passenger front seat airbag which, if deployed, could send shards of metal explosively into the unfortunate passenger. Honda warned that such could cause "severe injury or death." The auto manufacturer obviously took the defect seriously, advising in dark type that no passenger occupy the front seat until the defect was corrected... ...Let's pause briefly to consider the delicious irony of a safety device that could actually kill someone! I had in reality been riding around with a passenger in the front seat for four years. It was apparently a situation where if the accident didn't kill you, the airbag almost certainly could! My passenger was apparently an unwitting suicide jockey. There has to be a book scenario in this situation somewhere... My twisted mind envisions an Agatha Christy murder mystery type book titled, Death by Airbag. In our story, a disgruntled husband receives a safety recall notice like mine, but keeps it hidden from his spouse, and continues to drive the car with the safety defect uncorrected. In fact, he takes his spouse on frequent trips, especially in heavy traffic on infamously bad roads and during inclement weather. When an accident eventually occurs, the unfortunate spouse is impaled by airbag debris, and expires. Claiming that he never received a recall notice, the grieving husband sues the auto manufacturer for wrongful death, and is awarded millions of dollars in damages. He retires to a. mansion, the slight smile on his face barely noticeable as he sips his cognac before an enormous fireplace... So how about it? Do I have a book plot here? And don't worry...I did get my airbag inflator replaced promptly!
"So how about it? Do I have a book plot here? And don't worry...I did get my airbag inflator replaced promptly!".......as he retires to a. mansion, the slight smile on his face barely noticeable as he sips his cognac before an enormous fireplace... I think it has all the elements of a "Columbo" episode! Oh, just one more thing.........
Well you have certainly written a very interesting post for sure. I for one would probably enjoy reading that book too.
Airbags have certainly saved lives but, even without metal shards, you don't come through it without a beating, and they can kill you if you're short enough, which is why they don't recommend kids in the passenger seat. Even when working properly, you're likely to end up with bruising or worse from them. They inflate, and then deflate, very rapidly. In fact, they deflate so rapidly that they offer no protection from a second impact.
It is simply riding around with a small bomb in front of your chest, and beside your head, and.... You hope they do more good than harm.