http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2008/11/first...rash-looks.html

Check it out...

Chris

Read the comments on the blog posting...I agree that this may have been more of a side impact than a frontal impact, with impact primarily occurring around the driver's wheel well. This may not have necessitated an airbag deployment. We also don't know what Korean safety standards are, just that US-spec cars must meet US standards. Finally, who knows if this person had disabled the airbag or not.

Too many variables to pass judgment here.

Frankly, what I find to be of much more concern is that the road design standards in Korea are so lacking that it is allowed for a light pole to be unprotected in the middle of the pavement with no curb or guardrail protecting it. Those striped lines don't look reflective at all, and in bad weather conditions it could be very easy to miss the split and crash into that pole. Bad bad bad road design; there should have at minimum been a raised curbed concrete traffic island surrounding that pole to provide a buffer given the sharp angle of departure of that split. Better yet, surround that thing with Jersey barriers and a gardrail crash barrier.

Edited November 14, 200817 yr by Croc

That's your typical Korean road layout there, there are poles like that all over the place. South Korea's road system is far less regulated, far less enforced than in the U.S. There a couple of well-visible speed cameras on the main highway, but that's about it. It's a very dangerous place to drive, like the wild wild west, red lights are optional there.

I have seen air bags fail now and then. I saw a Mazda 5 that got hit in the side and the side airbags failed to go off even thought the drivers seat was pushed into the console and drivers seat.

It was in the body shop and the shop manager said there was not reason it should had not gone off.

Mine went off when the Cell Phone Idiot pulled infront of me and I just buckeled the front facia airdam. It was just enough to set the sensor off but not do a lot of damage other then just to the lower facia.

I would have walked away in hurt if the bag had not cut and burned me.

My brother-in-law's step mom had a Century that developed a crack across the steering wheel after a couple years. She went and had it looked at, when the popped the airbag cover off, it was discovered that the car had an invisible (or non-existent) airbag.

shame it didn't go off, the airbag cover itself is huge, which to me implies lots of cushy protection to rely on. I don't think the airbag covers on the worst 90's cars were this huge even?