uaebenz

I wrote this threat to clear something in my mind that has been very confusing. I recently made an accident with a CLK 500 and it's cancelled, the front of hte car is gone and the left part of the chasis is bent, and no airbags came out. My first feeling was that airbags were supposed to come out since my head banged on the steering, however after asking a few guys they said airbags only work if hte seat belt is worn. I talked about this to the manager of our agency and he said its because no seat belt was worn. Again i asked a former manager of a mercedes benz agency in another country he said if the chasis is bent the airbags had to come out. Any ideas guys?

FIXEDupW209

why wen't you wearing your seatbelt? your head wouldn't have hit the steeringwheel had you wore your seat belt. Also you have to hit whatever you hit straight on, if its on the front corner or left corner of your car then the airbags wont deploy.

uaebenz

let me show u a pic you might change ur mind, how do i post a pic?

johna1

I believe the safety systems know whether you're wearing a belt or not and this affects how the airbags deploy. They will not deploy in a low speed accident (this could still be quite severe).

I had an accident at 30km/h in a Jaguar and was surprised the bags didn;t deploy either, but they were in spec not to at that speed. The forces are quite strong and I also bounced around a bit.

I would like to see the airbags deploy if I was going any faster!

GDawgC220

my mother once rear ended the person in front of her with our w202 and she was not wearing her seatbelt (now she does) and the airbag did not deploy. When she asked why, MB said because her seatbelt was not worn. The restraint system detects if your seatbelt is buckled in or not.

I guess they don't want a 200MPH airbag slamming into your face if you don't have something holding you back, which IMO is a good idea. I wouldn't want a airbag flying into my face @ that speed if i didn't have my seatbelt on...

SUNILP

It is true, the system will not deploy if the seat belt is not worn. The car knows. THere are circuit completion tests the car runs when you start it. If there was any problem with the seat belt sensor, etc, it would have showed it on the dash cluster.

Narcissus

This is a safety issue, if you do not wear your safety belt you have better chances surviving by going thourgh the windshield than having your face crushed by a 300mph bag deploying in front

The curtains and side bags will still deploy even if you weren't wearing your belt

MadManAboutTown

I hope you're joking

MrMan

Well think about it. You're moving forward after a crash. An airbag is deploying at rapid speed in the opposite direction. I'd say going through the windshield is better than getting decapitated.

MadManAboutTown

I've actually seen a woman who went through her windshield at an intersection... and she WAS decaptitated (yes, I saw that).

Sorry, but "no seat belt", "no air bags" and/or "no helmet" (for cyclists) is just plain idiotic

gbahri

No it is true. If you don't wear a seatbelt no airbag will come out. I remember talking to a mercedes mechanic about it.

johna1

The airbags WILL deploy whether you are wearing a seatbelt or not. In fact, they will deploy sooner and faster if you are not. This is a basic safety feature. The passenger side AB will also deploy based on whether the seat detects someone sitting in it (a certain weight is required).

MadManAboutTown

This has been the only answer so far that makes sense. Good job, John.

GDawgC220

can someone do a test please? :p

All the dealers/mechanics/techs i've spoken with also say that the airbags do not deploy if you don't have your seatbelt on...

oh well.

johna1

Here is an article that explains it.

http://cms.firehouse.com/content/art...onId=19&id=759

MadManAboutTown

Excellent article. Thanks, John, for setting the record straight.

pokerFACE

it won't NOT deploy if you don't have your seatbelts on...

i thought there were a lot of states in the US that do not have seatbelt laws? and not even everybody complies with them even if the laws were in place....

Alias

Reality doesn't agree with you.

yellowslk

What idot drive around with out a seat belt on.

MadManAboutTown

Did a thread with a link to a PDF file just posted did deleted? It pointed to a CLK brochure which stated:



I think the point was trying to be made that air bags will not deploy if a seat belt is not worn. But you can clearly see that an ETD is referring to the seat belt by reviewing the statement made at the beginning of that page:

Quote:

Integrated Restraint System: Driver and front passenger are each provided with a front air bag, a side-impact air bag (Coupes) or head/thorax air bag (Cabriolets), and a 3-point seat belt with an Emergency Tensioning Device (ETD) and dual-stage belt force limiter. 3 Rear passengers are each provided with a side-impact air bag and a 3-point seat belt with ETD and belt force limiter.

Fast55

Believe me, you don't want the air bag to deploy unless it REALLY needs to. Mum used to work in a hospital E.R. and those things can make your face look as if it were hit by a belt sander, seat belts on or not. Sorry to here about the crash. Hope it was an "accident" and not a "wreck".

sideways60

You survived without the airbag going off. There for you didn't need it, that's why it didn't deploy.

Mercedes airbag systems not only measure road speed but also decelerative g force, seat occupant weight and seat belt usage to come up with a solution to not deploy, deploy stage 1 only or go for the whole hog stage 2 deployment.

If you get a full deployment you will be hit by a Nylon bag travelling at 200 mph (USA spec) - Oz/Euro spec is 144 mph; they expect a seatbelt unlike in USA). Has anyone had carpet burn? Imagine carpet burn at 200 mph, that's what happens down your forearms. Imagine getting hit in the face by a baseball at 200 mph, that's what happens if you have your arm infront of the airbag when it goes off. Imagine Mike Tyson punching you in the face while you're wearing glasses, do you want plastic or glass lenses? In Australia there have been 2 rumoured fatalities of men killed by pens in their top pocket piercing their heart when the airbag went off (not in Mercedes). Imagine resting your arm on the window sill when the side airbag goes off. Your arm accelerates at 120 mph over your head and joins your other arm on the opposite side of your body. Whereas resting your arm on the arm rest allows the airbag to deploy without inflicting any damge to your arm.

Be aware that a sideways collision into a solid object at just 20 mph is probably going to be fatal, due to your unprotected skull impacting the car's interior. If you just put on a push bike stack hat you will quadruple the survival rate, or a Mercedes curtain bag will do a similar job.

Imagine not having an airbag and slamming into the dashboard/steering wheel at 60 mph, totally unprotected. I would rather the airbag anyday but it will still ruin your whole day.

In the end the seatbelt is more of a life saver than an airbag but the two working together is a whole better proposition again.

marcos

I can't believe your questioning the air-bags when you didn't even bother to wear your seat belt

see240wag

[QUOTE=MadManAboutTown]I've actually seen a woman who went through her windshield at an intersection... and she WAS decaptitated (yes, I saw that).

That's what happened to '50's blonde bombshell Jayne Mansfield.

MadManAboutTown

[QUOTE=see240wag]Not according to this article: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/PAPENjayne.html