XPost: talk.politics.misc, alt.politics, alt.survival
XPost: soc.culture

https://www.newsnationnow.com/automotive/takata-airbag-recall-cars-vehicle-make-model/

. . .

The original air bags used sodium azide - but it
was quite toxic.

The Takata air bags use an ammonium nitrate mix.
It is not toxic BUT, as well known, over TIME and
especially exposure to humidity, the mix tends to
become a higher-velocity 'gunpowder' that can
cause metal/plastic shrapnel to be blasted into
peoples faces/necks. Numerous deaths and even
more maimings are well documented.

Yes, there HAVE been recalls ... but these have been
complicated by a shortage of replacements and by
consumers who imagine there's no issue. Not always
even CLEAR if YOUR car has one of the evil airbags
without PAYING for someone to disassemble things
and LOOK.

Airbags HAVE to be "near-explosive" - able to inflate
VERY fast during an impact. This requirement is
DIFFICULT to meet. The Takata bags were initially
OK ... and seen as an improvement ... but the
longer-term real-world chemistry was not obvious.

Toyota has been most afflicted by these deadly
air-bags ... but not the ONLY maker.

No, in today's cars, you REALLY don't want to
disable the air-bag. The overall design RELIES
on them for a significant boost to the safety
factor. The value of seat-belt systems seems to
have been reduced in favor of the bags as the
ultimate defense.

And that's How It Is.

Hmmm ... once had a motorcycle Made In Japan.
It had a nice-looking chrome thingie around
the gas cap. However as Japan is at a rather
high latitude, the designers never considered
the SUN ANGLE at lower latitudes. Further south
the nice thingie became a stark flat MIRROR
and beamed sun directly into the riders eyes.
Had to black-out mine. Ugly, but needed and
functional. (Kawa Vulcan 1500) OTHERWISE it
was a GREAT bike ... wish they still made 'em.
Before some EPA regs ... tons of power per cc,
20-80+ FAST in 3rd gear. The maker CLAIMED that
"consumer surveys" said people didn't WANT
that kind of performance. BULLSHIT !

(if you want a 'performance cruiser' these days
I'd suggest the Triumph Rocket-III or Yama V-Max
or maybe HD V-Rod (though the seating position
may totally crush yer nuts). The VTX-1800 was
another strong (but HEAVY) cruiser, but has been
discontinued for a number of years now). A cruiser
with a large power-reserve can get you out of a
number of Bad Situations ... been there. Do
remember an instant need for 60->130 mph ...
The VTX delivered, mass disaster averted.

My GUESS about Takata ... there was a reason I
mentioned the above stuff ... is that it's likely
the engineers just considered THEIR typical
climate instead of ALL climates. MUCH of the
world is much hotter and/or more humid. Local
biases CAN be relevant - and difficult to
avoid. The company DOES deserve some blame,
but .....

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)