You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
My mum had a fairly serious crash on the M5 near Worcester the other day, after which her car was taken to a police-approved compound. I have seen the photos and, being a 2006 Fiat Panda, am pretty certain it’s a write-off.
The thing is, the airbag never went off in the accident, and my mum, the police, and the insurer have all expressed surprise at this. Especially considering my mum has bruises all over her face, and her head, shoulders, and chest have all sustained injuries (bruising and the like).
The question is: who should be contacted and told about the airbag failure? Is this a matter of the insurers telling Fiat? Or is it something my mum should communicate with them? There is no question of litigation, but I would think it is a matter someone needs to know about.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
There is no question of litigation
I’m really not sure why.
I am certainly never one to endorse ridiculous “ambulance chaser” greed based compensation claims.
But if your mum has sustained injuries that could have been avoided, due to the failure of safety equipment, then that seems like a perfectly understandable, and genuine use of litigation to me.
Hey SR, sorry to hear that and I hope your mum is recovering okay?
As to the process, my approach, whether right or wrong, would be to take photo's and get in touch with FIAT UK with details and VIN, reg number etc and see what they do.
Airbags have a life expectancy, IIRC Ford recommended that air bags are changed every 15 years. I don't know if there is an industry wide SLA or requirement.
Ive just received a recall notice for my 10 year old Mazda to replace a possibly faulty passenger air bag, so presumably the manufacturers have a duty or obligation of care for some period of time.
i wonder if it depends on what exactly happened. It looks like it was a blow at the side so she may have kept on moving quite fast at which point you would still like to be able to see.
Can;t see any harm in contacting Fiat directly just to tell them in may indicate a problem
Ohh nasty, she needs lots of hugs.
👐🤲
Where are the airbag trigger points on the car ? What speed was the impact ?
Some of the basic models only had a trigger directly behind the number plate and needed a 25 mph impact to make it work .
Not sure the impact was severe enough purely based on the photo. Airbags can cause serious injury themselves including extensive bruising. They are only supposed to go off when enough force is exerted in the right direction.
Hope your mum is Ok.
Airbags don't just go off, they only go off if required as they pose a risk themselves. The bruises aren't always a good indication if the airbag should have deployed or not.
It would appear that the car has struck or been struck on the N/S front which is less likely to deploy than a full front impact.
To join the other comments above, airbags don't work like in films.
One saved my friends life, but broke 4 of his ribs while doing it.
Definitely enough to write off a Panda of that age. Doesn't look beyond repair though.
As others have said, damage doesn't suggest big enough forces in the places necessary to trigger the airbag.
Been punted into a central reservation at 'motorway' speeds, smashed every panel on the car, airbags weren't triggered as first impact was on the rear corner and the cables absorbed most of the energy.