[Jeep]

Picked Airbag. Reason: I am an extremely sedate driver, have hardly used the ABS on my car. More worried about someone coming in the opposite direction doing head on.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

Now coming to your point, there is no doubt that no human driver can come close to ABS. However, a good driver can try to pump the brakes and can be perhaps 25% as effective as an ABS system.

Sorry buddy, but there is no chance of that happening. It is impossible for any human being to replicate the functioning & speed of an ABS system. Also, I hope you realise that an ABS system can detect exactly which wheels are locking up (try that as a driver).

It's like saying airbags are useless because you carry around a pillow / balloon and can place it between yourself & the steering wheel just when you're going to crash

Source

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by GTO

Sorry buddy, but there is no chance of that happening. It is impossible for any human being to replicate the functioning & speed of an ABS system. Also, I hope you realise that an ABS system can detect exactly which wheels are locking up (try that as a driver).

It's like saying airbags are useless because you carry around a pillow / balloon and can place it between yourself & the steering wheel just when you're going to crash

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Attachment 1289010

I agree with you that a human can not replicate ABS. However one can try to drive slow, keep proper distance, slow down when needed etc. This to some extent helps one manage without ABS . On the other hand, there is nothing one can do to manage without an airbag if someone comes from the wrong side and hits you. That was my point. As I stated earlier, I strongly believe in the importance of ABS but if forced to choose between airbags and ABS, I would choose airbags.

[Sheel]

How many times have you guys been hit? How many times (sometimes in one day) has the ABS triggered to save you, your car & its occupants. ABS triggering doesn't mean you are a bad driver. Unforeseen circumstances call for emergency braking.

Nothing against airbags, but it needs to be triggered from such an angle that it gets activated. And sometimes that might not happen.

What I am saying is, both are as important, just that ABS is used much more. Value both, but please don't say, you don't need ABS. Now race cars/bikes are coming equipped with race ABS. They are not as intiutive as normal ABS.

Please drive carefully and wear that seat-belt.

[pratyush6]

Funny conversation with a Sales Guy yesterday.
So one of my colleges has to buy a car and got different Showrooms to send demo cars for a TD. All Swift ZXi.

This sales guy keeps insisting that you should go for the VXi as it will be comfortable in your budget and kept on harping on the fact that:

1. Your usage is low (<500kms) even though it included the odd highway trip - You dont need ABS as you will hardly ever speed.
2. Airbags will only work with speeds in excess of 100kmph and the cost to replace them is very very high - So no need.
I was so pissed off that I almost chided him for his views.

The fact remains though - only in India, one would think of the cost of replacing/reassembling the airbags when they have been used and not the possible benefit of the head not being smashed So its okay to have the head out of the body but not getting a new car/spending on replacing the airbags.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by Sheel

How many times have you guys been hit? How many times (sometimes in one day) has the ABS triggered to save you, your car & its occupants. ABS triggering doesn't mean you are a bad driver. Unforeseen circumstances call for emergency braking.

Nothing against airbags, but it needs to be triggered from such an angle that it gets activated. And sometimes that might not happen.

What I am saying is, both are as important, just that ABS is used much more. Value both, but please don't say, you don't need ABS. Now race cars/bikes are coming equipped with race ABS. They are not as intiutive as normal ABS.

Please drive carefully and wear that seat-belt.

I agree with your point. I never stated that ABS was not necessary.
It is a very useful, in fact vital safety tool. All cars I buy must have front, side and curtain airbags, ABS with EBD and ESC if possible. I have never denied the importance of ABS. However this debate is about a rare and unlikely scenario: if one could choose only one option and in that case, I feel that airbags are more important. Still I agree with you; ABS can sometimes obviate the need for an airbag by preventing an accident.

In any case ABS is more common in India than airbags.

[::CMS::]

Both are important. Also I am not sure why dont people think about avoiding an accident than the consequences after an accident, comparatively the avoidable accidents number high than the unavoidables. To me ABS is an accident avoiding tool and Airbag is the last resort of life saving after an accident and thats the reason the airbags are coupled with the seatbelts which is the primary life saver.

[srsriharsha]

I would rate ABS above Airbags primarily because airbags are deployed after an accident and ABS helps in preventing accident. Also since we are talking about choosing between the two, there would only be 2 airbags for front passengers in these cars. Wearing seat belts would help all 4 passengers to a great extent and coupling it with ABS would make it more useful than airbags. Many accidents happen when you sudden brake and the vehicle looses control driver panics and end up over compensating. If you have ABS you will always be in control and a would help in preventing the accident in the first place.

[mohan41]

I fully agree that Airbags is a life saver. I regret hastily buying a car with ABS but without airbags because the top variant was quoted to have very long waiting time.

However, I have one question for which I have not found an answer yet. Airbag cushions the upper part of one's body from the impact, but what happens to the legs? Wont the legs get crushed badly in case of a severe impact? Why isnt there something like airbags to save one's legs?

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by mohan41

However, I have one question for which I have not found an answer yet. Airbag cushions the upper part of one's body from the impact, but what happens to the legs? Wont the legs get crushed badly in case of a severe impact? Why isnt there something like airbags to save one's legs?

The airbag serves to protect the torso from an impact that can puncture the abdominal wall or injure the chest and damage the several vital organs in and around.

Yes, the legs need protection too and there have been many cases, where the victims have just bled to death because of a cut in femoral artery.

However there are less chances of dying from an injury to the arms or legs than if the injury is to the torso.

That may explain why protection for the legs has not been invented yet.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

That may explain why protection for the legs has not been invented yet.

It has, its called amongst others, crumple zone and cabin integrity protection. These sort of measure should protect the occupants from getting trapped and or ligaments from being squeezed etc.
Jeroen

[PVPal]

The ABS is a far more active safety system which prevents an incident from happening; from that point of view the air bag is a reactive system responding to an already occurring incident.

For me its always ABS first, and airbags a distant but mandatory second.

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by mohan41

Why isnt there something like airbags to save one's legs?

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

That may explain why protection for the legs has not been invented yet.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

It has, its called amongst others, crumple zone and cabin integrity protection. These sort of measure should protect the occupants from getting trapped and or ligaments from being squeezed etc.
Jeroen

Right in fact Cabin integrity i.e. not allowing the cabin to deform beyond a point - has the salutary effect of protecting the occupants whole (not only the legs).
I believe the context of the response to which you kindly lent your views - was if there have been development of airbags -specifically to protect the legs from injury. AFAIK - I have not seen or heard of any vehicle which has developed/invented air bag technology specifically to protect the legs.

Having said that, one of the major causes of grave leg injury and/or trapping the driver's leg in an automobile accident are pedals and steel pedal stalks that protrude from the floor. I am not sure if some of the more progressive automobile manufacturers have done anything to address this point.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

... one of the major causes of grave leg injury and/or trapping the driver's leg in an automobile accident are pedals and steel pedal stalks that protrude from the floor. I am not sure if some of the more progressive automobile manufacturers have done anything to address this point.

They do. The firewall is supposed to sort of fold over the pedals, pushing the bottom of the dash towards the driver and up. Had seen a (CAE) simulation of that a while back.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by mohan41

Wont the legs get crushed badly in case of a severe impact? Why isnt there something like airbags to save one's legs?

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

That may explain why protection for the legs has not been invented yet.

Ummm guys, I am not sure if you are aware but there are cars (albeit the expensive ones) equipped with knee airbags which are located adjacent to the glove compartment and below the steering column in the dashboard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWoRBacFFKo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg29SXwqeuo