Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Hit deer - airbags fired

Hit a deer last night at about 50mpg. Never saw him coming out of the ditch (still not sure what side he came from). I just saw a flash of brown and then a very loud bang and lots of stinky airbag smoke. I managed to pull over to the shoulder safely depite the shock. I got out expecting to see major carnage on the front end, but it was not too bad - rumpled hood and driver quarter panel, smashed light cluster, and cracked windshield (probably from airbag, since the deer did not appear to go over the car). It might still be drivable except the battery shorted and the airbags where hanging out. I suffered some cuts and abrasions on my left arm and stomach. I think I had my left hand on the turn signal stalk, since it was torn off (the stalk, not my hand LOL).

My question is, should the airbag have fired? This was my first airbag incident and it was very violent and disorenting, especially since I never saw it coming. In this accident, I think it was more dangerous for the bags to fire - I would not have been injured had they not, and it would have been easier to maintain control. Does anyone know what conditions must exist for the bags to fire (impact, G's, etc)?

Looking for another Contour (since this one is probably totaled),
-Luxury

Did you notice that you described the damage to your car first and then described the damage to your body second.

Friend sure you are not still dazed just a bit.

You came out okay. I have heard of others that did not fare to well after hitting a cow escaped from its patch.

Sorry to hear about your incident but good to hear you are OK.

Regarding the airbag firing, it really depends on the incident. If the force was sufficient enough to set off the ball and tube sensor (which I think that vintage of car had) then that's why it fired. If I remember right, I think the sensor is located behind each of the headlights.

I feel your pain man. I hit a deer, or should I say a deer hit me in my parents Durango. I was driving along RT. 7 in Vermont and I saw the deer zig zaggin from a field into the road. There were ditches on both sides of the road so i couldn't pull off to avoid collison. The deer hit me on the rear drivers side door. It actually left snot of the rear window where its nose hit. The second deer incident happened to my uncle and I driving back from Vermont. Deer popped out, only saw a brief brown blur. Chevy Tahoe going 55mph + deer = Undrivable Tahoe and deer carnage. The moral of the story is, watch out for deer in VT. Glad your alright and I hope your insurance takes care of the repairs

- Andrew

yeah dude, i was on a 2 lane highway about 4 months ago, and i saw a big deer come from the left side of the highway, i hit the brakes and swerved to avoid it, i did, but it hit my rear quarter panel and sent my car in a spin at 50mph, after sliding sideways down the road for 50 feet, i came to rest in the ditch on the left, perpendicular to the road, i thought the car was toasted, cause i could see the bumper cover was covering the headlights (deep ditch), but the airbags never fired (they might not work... ), but the car came out unscathed except the black driver fog light louver thing was broken.

i really hate deer.....

The airbags can actually deploy at speeds as slow as 12 mph. It just depends on the angle of the hit, what section of the car, speed.I was riding with my buddy in his Taurus SHO, somehow he lost control and we ended up doing a 360 and landing in a ditch. The airbag went off. I had a can of coke in the cupholder, I actually watched it fly up, in front of me, and land top up on the floor next to the door. It didn't spill anything, rather weird.