Mostly OT Memorial Day rant

Funny, race cars probably have the best auto safety equipment on the planet. I've never heard of an air bag in a race car.

Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD" >>> To reply, remove the TRABoD!

The company I work makes components for airbag deployment. One of the chief engineers came to town for briefing but I was unable to get a distinct answer on the actual pyro charge other than...'it's not blackpowder'.

The gas used to inflate the bag is Argon(sic?) though.

Know those new CO2 HPR ejection systems? EXACTLY like the automotive deployment setup except much smaller.

Ted Novak TRA#5512

David We>

I used to get that demonstration on an almost daily basis when I rode SEPTA to school.

Bill Sullivan

Actually, in PA, most stickers are stolen by cutting the end of the plate off. The situation has gotten so bad that in Philly the sticker is now glued inside the rear window. So all of the stickers stolen in Philly are now from folks who drive in from the 'burbs.

Bill Sullivan

Sodium Azide. Very nasty and touchy stuff.

I feel nervous sitting behind a charge of it. When my father (who was a chemist amd materials safety expert) was alive, he refused to own a car with airbags, or allow any of us to own one.

For a while, it seemed like half the cars in Philly were missing a corner from their plate.

Anyway I hope the anal people enjoy reading the directions for their stickers. I sure gives me a laugh.

knock knock I don't give a shit if some steals the sticker.

There are currently two different types of airbag systems. The older, more commonly found ones use sodium azide to generate hot nitrogen gas. The newer ones (lower power) use argon and an initiator.

Why? Are there a lot of injuries due to unexpected (non-impact) airbag deployments? I haven't heard of any.

Why, because TERRORISTS might get a hold of it and do something awful, you silly man!

Seriously, I'll grant that the number of unintended deployments is small, and dropping as safety measures improve - but it's not zero. And since I remain convinced that the value of the airbag itself is minimal, any non-zero risk is excessive.

Executive summary: a ridiculously expensive and complex system that's minimally effective, forced on us for political reasons by the nannystate - lurching back onto the off-topic topic, as it were.

Ouch. That "bonus delay" might hurt.

They stick a whole Aerotech rocket in the airbag :-)

Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD" >>> To reply, remove the TRABoD!

It was not an interim leadership. In accordance with the laws of the land, Richard Nixon appointed Gerald Ford as Vice-president when Spiro Agnew resigned. That appointment was overwhelmingly confirmed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Also, Nixon was never impeached, he resigned.

Mario Perdue NAR #22012 Sr. L2 for email drop the planet

"X-ray-Delta-One, this is Mission Control, two-one-five-six, transmission concluded."

And then there was Clinton who was impeached but didn't resign! (Al in the background chanting "Go Bill", "Go Bill", "it will make it easier for me to win as I'll be in office!"

NEVER let facts stand in the way of an rmr rant.

Jerry

Oops.

Few ever do. ; )

Randy

The facts are correct, it is the semantics that some people have difficulty with. However, my post was not about Nixon. That issue is dead and buried. My post was about Memorial Day reflections, pondering Iraqi's immediate future, and Bush's "war footing".

Alan

Cool! Where's the launch button?! :-)

I dunno about non-impact airbag deployments. Here's an airbag injuries/deaths report published by a group of professional ambulance chasers with the following link.

In the U.S., since 1990, airbags have killed 227 people in low-severity crashes. The majoriy of deaths were children (119) and babies (22). The percentage is low with respect to the number of airbags and vehicles being driven every day. The newer, slower airbag systems have likely cut the incidences down. Still, it's got me concerned.

Dwayne