I T-Boned a 99 Geo prism that pulled out in front of me as I was going 55mph on a highway. We went across 4 lanes of traffic, still connected, then we each hit a guardrail head on as I had hit my brakes and we disconnected. Not a single air bag deployed. My hand was INSTANTLY broken upon initial impact. I was wearing my seatbelt so no other major injuries. But I am concerned about why my curtain of airbags didn’t deploy at all. I should have been in a bubble of safety and I was not.
Not a question for us… this is a question for Chrysler and a lawyer you hire to work this out for you. Have the data recorder in the car accessed to find out what it thought happed compared to what did.
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The relatively small amount of body damage might be a clue regarding non-deployment of the air bags. However, I suggest that you contact NHTSA, and inform them of what you perceive to be a safety defect in your car. Perhaps this will result in a recall if sufficient numbers of other Challenger drivers report something similar.
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FCA actually sent a 3 party investigator out to pull the black box info from the wreck yesterday. I was just curious because it’s a brand new 1 of 1 with 3800 miles on it.
It’s really not a small amount of damage. I was only allowed to post one picture.
Yeah, you need to get a copy of that data. If it is lost, you lose all leverage against the other driver and FCA.
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deleted 
My aim!?! I don’t want to sue anyone. I want to know why? I could have seriously been hurt or dead. I bought my dream car and something was apparently wrong. The shop said the rebar behind the bumper saved the frame and it took the brunt of damage. My car started back up after I turned it off at the scene. I’m sorry you feel like everyone is out for money. But I was curious after buying a $60k car and having it a year and not make it to the first oil change WHY the airbags didn’t deployed.
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I don’t want to sue, I just want to know why since Uconnect sends out a monthly system check, and I got one 7 days before accident and airbags passed the check.
Please forget my earlier question
I deleted it
But we can discuss this, if you want
Not everybody . . . but I’d say probably 1/2 of the people I’ve ever known view any accident as a potential payday to net them tens of thousands of dollars
I don’t think we’ll be able to answer any of your information in a way that will satisfy your curiosity, since we don’t have access to the data recorder. Nor do we know the exact parameters for deploying the airbag(s) on your particular model.
I still suspect those parameters were not met
I didn’t realize you deleted comment. I have just never been in an accident like this, especially in a race car… I saw this community and thought I would ask. Maybe I posted on the wrong discussion feed.
Not really , it is just that no one can really say if the airbags sensors worked as they should or failed .
Actually your major concern now is how the other persons insurance will treat you . You should also inform your insurance as they might offer assistance if you think the settlement is too low.
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Both me and the other driver have the same insurance company, State farm. They are, so far, doing good. Hopefully it stays that way.
I deleted the comment because I felt it might come across as harsh 
But we can discuss it, if you like
You posted in in the right place
But you will get a lot of opinions, some based on years of professional experience
But none of that will have any legal weight
By the way, has it been determined yet that the guy in the Geo Prizm was 100% at fault for apparently suddenly pulling out in front of you . . . ?!
I hope your hand will eventually heal up fine . . . I’ve been going through some physical therapy myself, lately
When you hit that guy, was it 100% head on, or was it at somewhat of an angle?
Was the guy in the freeway lane next to you and suddenly pulled in front of you without looking?
Or did he merge from an entrance ramp and suddenly pulled in front of you
Where I live, there’s a really old freeway, with entrances and exits DIRECTLY to a residential area. And it can be a little dangerous when a guy merges onto the freeway, right in front of somebody speeding along and minding their own business
It sounds like the other guy was to blame. Hopefully the insurance companies will come to that conclusion, as well
By the way, if you did indeed hit the prizm head-on and not at any angle, there shouldn’t be a need for the curtain airbags . . . I mean the side airbags . . . to deploy, I would think
Was it a limited access highway or a road with high speeds and a few intersections? A friend had a similar accident about 50 years ago. He was driving on a divided highway with occasional intersections without traffic lights. He went half way through the car that pulled out in front of his Camaro. The only thing that saved the other driver’s life was that he wasn’t wearing a seat belt and jumped into his wife’s lap just before his car was hit.
As long as you weren’t speeding, it should be the other driver’s fault. If you were speeding, it will be partly your fault. BTW, you can’t lie and get away with it. The black box recorded your speed just before impact. I’m not suggesting anything about your driving, just reminding you of one thing the black box does.
At 60 grand, State Farm will likely repair it as long as the engine doesn’t need significant repairs.
Please do not think I am minimizing anything here. As a firefighter I have responded to a number of vehicle accidents and learned a lot about air bags. Your one statement speaks volumes of the accident and why the air bags did not deploy
"My hand was INSTANTLY broken upon initial impact. I was wearing my seatbelt so no other major injuries. "
“…no other major injuries.”
The algorithms on air bag systems are amazing and getting better all the time. Your system measured the deceleration and determined that the air bags did not need to deploy. Even if the air bags did deploy you would still have had a broken wrist. But the air bags could not improve over “…no other major injuries.” Air bags are not soft fluffy pillows, they explode violently and quickly -they have to respond in milliseconds -faster than the accident. In fact the air bags would have caused more injuries such as, burns to the hands and face, possible broken nose/jaw, possible broken ribs. Now in a serious accident I would gladly take a broken nose over death. But in your seat, the air bags would not have improved your situation. BTW kudos to you for wearing your seat belt, that probably helped the most in the accident.
Your car is probably 2x the weight of the GEO Metro, I would imagine that many of the air bags on that car deployed. They would definitely got the worse of this. The Geo probably changed direction/momentum a lot more that your car. Like falling off a building it is not the fall that hurts you it is the sudden stop at the end. Your car continued to move, continuing to lose momentum. Each mph you can shave off makes the sudden stop less painful. You have some front crumpling but considering you were going 55 not much. Without any background info I would have guessed you had rear ended some one at 15 mph. I bet the Geo was barely recognizable.
Good that FCA is checking into this.
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Two tons plus for the Dodge. Right at a ton on the Geo. Not hard to see where the brunt of that impact is going. Your car came out pretty good for an impact at that speed.
I know that it is very difficult to think about things in a panic situation but if you are ever faced with a situation like this again and no way out let go of the steering wheel. The tendency is to grab on tight to the wheel but a sharp lurch is what likely broke your hand.
A couple of years ago my sister broadsided someone (they ran a red light) and the bags in her 2017 Accord did not go off; and with 17 grand in damage.
They were on a side road. Group of 3 teenagers, and I saw the car sitting there and got in the left lane so they could turn right on the highway if needed. I drove in the left lane for about a 1/4 mile at 55mph and all the sudden I impacted the entire car. I didn’t even hit the brake until I was looking dead in to the other drivers eyes. The Geo was stuck on my car and we went to the left and crossed incoming traffic and hit the guard rail, both of us head on. And there was a witness behind me that gave the statement to police about what happened and that there was nothing I could have done. Yes is was deemed their fault. Yes their car crumpled in front of my eyes. They had to cut out all 3 people and air lifted the one in the backseat, I recently found out they are all doing ok. The geo was not equipped with airbags. The police kept asking me if I turned my airbags off because of the impact they said they said they should have deployed.
Christy H. Vaughn
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