On Nov 19, 2004, at 11:11, John J. Stimson-III wrote:
> On Fri, Nov 19, 2004 at 01:27:28PM -0500, John Kelly wrote:
>> While the above is only a recomendation at this time, I have to ask
>> what
>> happens to anybody whose face is exposed to the air bag "safety"
>> device
>> during a collision?
>
> An airbag is designed to distribute the force of impact across a wide
> area, which reduces the maximum amount of pressure your body/head are
> exposed to. It's still going to smart -- there may be "rug-burns" or
> bruises, but it's not going to break anything.
Not true, there are many, many reports of broken noses, cheekbones;
and, most scary, glasses.
> A helmet is designed to do the same thing for just your head.
> However, it won't distribute the force across as wide an area as the
> air bag would, because it contacts the front of your head over a
> smaller area. I think the concern in this case is that the force from
> the air bag pushes the helmet up and back, and it's the contact point
> between the chin-guard and your jaw that resists most of that force.
> That would tend to concentrate the pressure on your jaw rather than
> allowing it to be distributed across your face.
>
> In the case of the combination of a full face helmet with an airbag,
> the helmet defeats the function of the airbag, and concentrates the
> force rather than spreading it.
Yeah... I'll stick with the helmet. You know, the device designed to
protect my face against high-speed impact with objects.
>> Does this study include what happens to a person wearing an
>> "open-face"
>> helmet?
>
> Since the concern seems to be contact between the chin bar and the
> jaw, the problem in question could not happen with an open-face
> helmet. It would be effectively the same as the case with no helmet.
Nice side-step. Ok, did the study include what happens to a person not
wearing a helmet? (No, because it was targeted at F1 drivers, and not
wearing helmets isn't an option.)
>
>> I'm having difficulty resolving how a "study" done in Formula 1 cars
>> relates to sedans.
>
> Are the air bags in F1 cars fundamentally different from those in
> passenger cars?
Yes.
> What is there about a passenger car that would alter
> the outcome?
Force, speed of deployment, impact speed design of the bag, belt
design, distance and alignment of the head to the wheel...
> You put "study" in quotes, as if you don't believe the research was
> valid. Is there a reason to doubt the motives or methods of the
> authors?
Certainly. They were studying another subject entirely, and probably
had no idea that their (5-year old) finding would be extrapolated and
applied to a significantly different scenario.
There's a bunch of reaction to this on the national lists, if you want
to discuss it there.
KeS
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