OK, I'll be the one to rain on everyone's parade here. I said it before and I'll say it again. No matter how cool it looks: Removing an airbag or any safety feature on a car that came with it originally is illegal unless done for one of the "excepted" reasons such as making accommodation for someone with disabilities. This has been federal law since 1972. Disabling/removing an airbag is no different than, say, taking a pair of scissors and snipping out a seat belt. Check out this website: http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/adaptive/Inoper/Fre_ask_Ques.htm If you get in an accident and are injured where you might not have been injured had the airbag not been removed, your insurance won't cover your injuries. Have you notified your insurance company of this modification? You might want to and find out what they say, and, I know it's hindsight now, but you might have wanted to do this BEFORE you removed the airbag as they might have told you not to. They might tell you now that your insurance policy will be revoked unless the airbag is reinstalled. On the other hand, the insurance company might not care at all. But wouldn't you rather find this out before you are in an accident and not after?
That is a sharp upgrade So what did you do about the air bag sensors etc? It it was me, I'd rig it (the air bag) to behind the from licience plate....... wouldn't that blow the mind of a J-walking pedestrian!.........PUNT!
First off I'm not a manufacturer, distributor, dealer or motor vehicle repair business. It's a 21-year-old car, that I own outright, and as far as I'm concerned all I did was save myself from a possible bad injury if I ever DID get in a wreck. Modern bags are de-powered compared to these older ones, which really were like bombs waiting to go off. To me it wasn't a safety feature. The leather on my airbag wheel was cracking, the airbag cover itself had shrunk and warped, like many of these early bags did, and the warpage made it hard to engage the horn....a safety feature I DO believe in. And it's looks took away from how nice the rest of the interior is. This is a popular mod on these GM Longroof wagons, since they use the same steering column GM used FOREVER it's an easy swap. Now that said I've not seen an Olds wagon with the wheel swapped, but have seen Buick and Chevy longroofs updated like this....and love them. I'll gladly wear my seatbelt, and will not miss that bomb sitting in front of me.
Do airbags save lives? Who knows. How do prove that someone would have died had they not had an airbag? How do you prove that you lived because of an airbag? It is only another safety feature just as seat belts,padded dashes, and rounded instrument controls. Best safety feature is defensive driving and paying attention. Long live the good driver!
Airbags save lives. Seat belts save lives. It's as simple as that. The long history of accident statistics supports this. Of course, you can't prove a negative. But that doesn't negate the mountains of evidence accumulated over many decades that fewer lives have been lost and fewer injuries have been sustained first due to the advent of seat belts and more recently with the advent of airbags. Of course, defensive driving is a requirement, too, but it's not the only thing, and it can't guarantee that you'll never be in an accident. That's why we have all three--defensive driving, seat belts, airbags. Add to that a long list of other safety features added over the years like anti-lock brakes, to name just one. Taken all together, they save lives.
The problem is that even things that save lives can take them; heads severred by seat belts, air bags snapping your neck, I've even heard of someone getting broadsided and their passenger being flung over and getting the gear shift in through their eye. Sometimes there isn't anything you can do. If I'm driving the vehicle doesn't move until all passengers are buckled in. I have had people tell that they won't do it. I told them that I'm not getting a ticket on my record. I have a clean driving record and I will keep it that way. But that's just me. Still... Aesthetically speaking the new wheel looks really good.
Absolutely right. That's why you go with the PERCENTAGES. Statistically speaking, you're more likely to survive an accident or be less injured if the various safety systems are in place. We're not safer only because we have seat belts or only because we have airbags or only because we drive defensively. We're safer because we have all three at the same time. Yes, you can point to individual incidents where someone was hurt by an airbag or hurt by a seatbelt, but these are not the norm, and to base your decision on whether or not to use these devices or practice good driving is not a good idea. Of course, we've really drifted a bit from the original issue. The issue is not the pros and cons of airbags. The issues are (a) was the law violated with the removal of the original equipment airbag, and (b) what is the effect of this, if any, on insurance coverage? They're really two separate issues because it's possible that it's not illegal but that the insurance company will still object, or it's possible that it IS illegal but the insurance company doesn't care. Just for the fun of it, I called my local insurance agent, a State Farm office, and asked the lady that answered the phone, "what would be the effect, if any, on my insurance coverage on a car for which the driver's side airbag, which was original equipment to the car, were removed by me." She paused and then said, "I don't know--I don't recall that issue coming up before. I would have to do some research and get back with you." She said the only times the issue of airbags coming up in insurance claims that she could recall was when one fails to deploy, and the possibility of suing the manufacturer arises. I told her not to bother with the research as the question was only hypothetical, and I had no plans to actually do such a thing to any of my cars.
I love the change. I hate those big bulky ugly airbag steering wheels. Whether it is illegal or not, I'd never know for sure where I live. Each police officer around here seems to read laws in different ways and 99.44/100th of the people working in the insurance offices act like they started today. Altho most have worked the same place for many years. We still don't know what is legal for the tint of windows after many years. We hear of people getting tickets for mild side window tinting yet see brand new cars that you can't see people inside. My Dodge pickup horn has never worked right from day one. Most times I hit the center of the wheel to honk and nothing happens. By the time I find the correct place and keep mashing on it, I'm two blocks down the street. You call that a safety feature?
Nice looking wheel. Just make sure to keep an eye out for the airbag police flying around in their unmarked black helicopters when you're driving around.
In Canada, because it is illegal to remove one, your insurance is invalid. They may not even cover the damage to the other car in an 'at fault' accident, since you car would not pass the safety inspection. Never underestimate the ability of an insurance company do deny a claim, whether the reason is truly valid or not. The 1990 model year G.M. with the seat belts mounted to the doors, and the other cars with their 'mouse run' seat belts were early means of complying with the 'automatic restraint' requirement for any vehicle built after Jan 1, 1990. Just to be clear, I am not a fan of air bags. I hate the things. Because of that, and that I refuse to deal with emissions testing, I just won't buy a car built after model year 1987. That way I have neither to deal with.
