Air bag and body crash questions

[mx6bfast]

This morning I had a wreck at a busy intersection here in Memphis. Lady in the left lane decided to pull into the center lane, where I was, near the intersection during a green light and come to a complete stop, I assume to get into the right lane to turn at the intersection. Needless to say being less than 3 cars behind her, none in front of me before her, and going 45 mph I didn't have enough time to completely stop. I hit her rear passenger side Saturn VUE and there is very little damage to her VUE. My 08 Rogue's front bumper was hanging only by the passenger side, the hood is bowed, the front driver side panel was bent with the well nearly rubbing up against the tire. The driver side headlight was smashed. I didn't even try to drive it.

Question 1) I was surprised that the airbags did not deploy. Do I have to hit a certain speed so the airbags will deploy? I thought they went off on all front end collisions.

Question 2) Are Rogue's made for the body to pretty much break apart during a crash? When at the body shop we took a look and I saw the frame and it looked in tact, and there was a small section in the front that he said they would screw off and put a new one on. It's less than a foot long. He said the dent in it should've deployed the airbags.

[mx6bfast]

I had the seat belt on. The pain in my chest proves it. I guess its an even better thing I did since the airbags didn't deploy or I would've been in more physical pain and shape.

Thanks for asking, yes I am alright. Just a little sore and mad about the situation.

[Pescakl1]

From what I understand, the airbag will deploy when it detects it needs to, i.e when the deceleration occurs above a determined speed. Even if you were driving at 45 mph, you braked so you hit the other car at a lower speed. The other car moved, so the deceleration was not sudden.
The manufacturer determined that at this low speed, it would be detrimental for you to deploy the airbag, that is why it was disconnected. FYI, deployment of airbags can be hurtful, but between this and eating/hitting the steering wheel, the airbag can be of some use,... but not in this case.

Sorry for you misfortune, I hope you won't be hit another time, this time with your car insurance company: Did the other driver recognize she was at fault? Did you get witnesses to help you avoiding an insurance price increase?

As for the other question, yes, modern cars are build to crush on impact in order to absorb the energy of the impact and not you. That is a good thing parts can be changed, as when crumbled zones are used, some cars have to be written off.

If that is OK with you, could you keep us update to let us know what is the final invoice for the repair (with details if available), for information only?

As for the seat belt mark, I kept one during about 3-4 weeks, but it was a near head-on with a RV which crunched the driver front portion of my car (there was no airbag on my car at that time).

[mx6bfast]

Sorry for you misfortune, I hope you won't be hit another time, this time with your car insurance company: Did the other driver recognize she was at fault? Did you get witnesses to help you avoiding an insurance price increase?

Thanks. No she didn't, she refused to give me her insurance information and her parents refused to give me her liability until after the police was done with it. I did not see her name on the liability coverage.

As for the other question, yes, modern cars are build to crush on impact in order to absorb the energy of the impact and not you. That is a good thing parts can be changed, as when crumbled zones are used, some cars have to be written off.

Good to know. I was under the impression newer cars did do that, considering the damage to mine. I took pics with my phone and will either send them to someone who can email them back to me or ask the body shop to send them to me too. I'll post a few on here. Her 2004 VUE like I said had minimal damage.

If that is OK with you, could you keep us update to let us know what is the final invoice for the repair (with details if available), for information only?

Sure, I'll provide updates as I have them.

And to top things off, we are moving to South Florida at the end of this month. My wife is already down there and waiting on us to arrive the first week of November. My court date is set for 11-5, so it looks like it will be a little longer for us.

[Leo2005]

Reminds me my Scion TC that I bought in August of 2006 and totaled in January 2007 with a little over 5k miles on it. I didn't wear a seat belt but my nephew did. Driver's airbag didn't deploy but came out a little bit and you could squeeze your hand between airbag and the steering wheel. Passenger's airbag didn't deploy at all:

[mx6bfast]

I sure hope you aren't talking about Boca Raton or anywhere near there. You'll get into hundreds of these accidents. The drivers are all 85 year olds that should be taking the bus!

Actually yes that is exactly where we are going. She will based out of Deerfield Beach doing adult cancer research on the 85 year olds.

[mx6bfast]

Thanks for all of the info. I will send it to my wife too. I have heard and noticed the drivers down there are bad. I've been told the theory is there is such a mesh of different cultures they are all bringing their own driving style and it doesn't work so well together. I'm of course coming from Memphis where the drivers are terrible too (obviously). But even just the few times we have been down there I have noticed a difference in driving styles.

I got the pictures of my car in email and will post them later today.

[mx6bfast]

Pictures of my car:


Pictures of her car:

[takeshi]

This morning I had a wreck at a busy intersection here in Memphis. Lady in the left lane decided to pull into the center lane, where I was, near the intersection during a green light and come to a complete stop, I assume to get into the right lane to turn at the intersection.

I definitely feel for you. There seem to be a lot more people pulling nonsense like this these days. Or maybe I'm just noticing more that people will stop all traffic because they weren't paying attention or attempt a turn from the wrong side of the street (left run from right lane or right turn from left lane regardless if the street has 3+ lanes on a side).

No she didn't, she refused to give me her insurance information and her parents refused to give me her liability until after the police was done with it. I did not see her name on the liability coverage.

That's no fun either. I had to threaten to call the cops on an at fault driver who insisted that I was at fault and refused to provide her information. I'm not sure why people think they don't have to provide anything if they don't think they're at fault.

And to top things off, we are moving to South Florida at the end of this month.

Yikes. We have terrible drivers here and while I'm used to dealing with them, southern Florida scares even me,

I hope this all works out for you.

[ThandaPani]

I am sorry to hear about the crash, mx6bfast. I am surprised to see the amount of damage in your car compared to the other car. I am really looking forward to the new road safety rating that is coming out from DOT and see Rogue's rating on that.

Looking at your experience, it is a little scary. I'd have hoped Rogue to be a little more stardy. I wonder if the difference in damage was due to the area that got hit. I am no expert, but may be the back of the car is stronger then the front. My car once had a crash from behind. The car crashed into me was smashed in front. Mine had huge dent and shift in metal body (we are talking about 1991 Dodge Caravan). It was declared totalled, but the damage was extremely minor compared to the other car.

Wish you well mx6bfast.

[mx6bfast]

I got the estimate and will post images of it soon, hopefully later tonight.

[mx6bfast]

Alright, here is it.

$4994.27 worth to put my Rogue back together. I also asked to touch up a few spots where other stupid people have dinged my doors and they are doing that. 10 - 12 business days of work, and they were able to get the car started. You might have to click on the images twice to view them.

[Pescakl1]

Mx6bfast, thank you very much for the details.

So, from what I read, the front bumper is $243 + tx and the hood is $387.
I thought these parts will be more expensive, that is a good news.

Is it normal that you get a reconditioned (used) head light and not a new one? Once again $172 is not too expensive.

Oops, one more thing: Is the A/C condenser not OEM as I read it (same thing with the radiator)? Are they not supposed to install only OEM replacement parts, not necessarily new?

[heatherk1]

Ii had the same thing happen to me. Except I drive a '10 s krom. All parts had to be special ordered bc of the differences in the body style. My cost was around $14k and took right at a month to fix.

The only difference between your wreck and mine was that I was exiting 1 highway to get onto another in Dallas TX. A tow truck was going into other lanes and slamming on his brakes. Traffic was flowing at about 50 mph when he just stopped. I was on a downslope going 50 with enough room between for 3 cars to get in bc it was obvious that he didn't know how to drive in Dallas traffic. I ended up being rear ended as well. No airbags either. Here's pix of mine.
I'm really sorry to hear about your wreck. I hate bad drivers. Road rage here. Yet have never been in a wreck in the 20 years I've been driving. Good luck! Hope it doesn't take as long for yours as mine did. And I have to go back in a few weeks to have part of my exhaust system fixed.

[ThandaPani]

mx6bfast's damage seems a little worse then heatherk1. Wonder if Krom has any advantage in that sector, or just a coincidence with the action of impact. Sad stuff, none the less. My wife just hit someone slightly while reversing the other day, and was surprised to see that the bumper didn't even have a scratch. It was pretty loud, but plastic hit another plastic. I immediately thought about mx6bfast's car when I heard the sound.

Good luck to you both...

[mx6bfast]

The body shop had to do an additional ~$500 worth of repairs before I picked it up. I got it October 25th and so far everything seems fine. There was a clicking sound when the windshield wipers were on but that was resolved.

Now I just have my court date tomorrow.

[ThandaPani]

I just hit a CRV on the highway. Office traffic, multiple hard brakes, and only one poor driver. Only good thing that came out of it all, The CRV had no damage what so ever. But its spare tire pushed my bumper in and the hood is bent. No tickets, but I bet insurance is gonna make me learn a lesson here. I wish the brake had worked a little better for me. Not a good way to start the year.

[jb84m10]

Sucks that she or her parents want to take fault. Like inifiniti says, South Florida has some pretty bad drivers too. Lived here all my life and I would have to say about 35% of drivers know how to use turn signals.

Hope everything goes well in court and all.

[mx6bfast]

The ticket got dismissed. My insurance still hasn't closed the case out yet as to who is more at fault. The other person isn't being too cooperative and claims that she was stopping for the red light. I told my insurance if you look at the picture with both cars in it from the side, you can see how far from the light we were at the top right corner of the picture. I last spoke with my insurance 2 weeks ago and he kept asking the same questions as before and was asking more about the surroundings. Maybe I'm being pessimistic but I see that as being in my favor, especially since it isn't as cut and dry. I drove that intersection for 10 years, 5 days a week, twice a day so I am extremely familiar with it. I told him I feel like I am not the one at fault which is why I called my insurance within 30 minutes of it occurring, and that there is no reason she should've stopped in the middle of the lane to go straight when no one was in front of her. We'll see.

[ThandaPani]

I read this thread with interest, without knowing that I'll be a part of it. I was surprised how easily my car got dented. Luckily the car in front of me driven by a 17 year old, stopping hard in the middle of the highway didn't have any damage. I am just wondering if it still will be my fault, since I hit the car from the rear. I didn't get a ticket though. I'll post the picture soon.

[philipa_240sx]

I am just wondering if it still will be my fault, since I hit the car from the rear. I didn't get a ticket though. I'll post the picture soon.

In pretty much all cases, if you rear end another vehicle you are at fault.

I hope it works out for you.