"I had an accident on May 8, 2010 in my 2007 Corolla LE. The driver door was crushed and the car declared totaled," Lauren, of Mount Verson, N.Y., told ConsumerAffairs.com. "My car had six airbags. Not one airbag deployed to protect me from the inside of the car."
"Airbag standards change in 1999 In 1999 the federal government changed its air bag standards because it said airbag deployment was sometimes causing significant injury and even death. Particularly at risk, the government found, were children and small adults. Also, occupants not wearing a seatbelt interacted with the airbag differently than those wearing restraints.
As a result, cars now have sensors that analyze different types of data during a crash and make a split second decision about whether to deploy the vehicle's airbags. Some sensors are located outside the car and react to an object striking the vehicle. Some are located inside the car and measure the size and weight of the occupants. "
Speed and damage not good indicators "Because air bag sensors measure deceleration, vehicle speed and damage are not good indicators of whether or not an air bag should have deployed," NHTSA said on its website. "Occasionally, air bags can deploy due to the vehicle's undercarriage violently striking a low object protruding above the roadway surface. Despite the lack of visible front-end damage, high deceleration forces may occur in this type of crash, resulting in the deployment of the air bag."