January 25, 2012

It could be in the bag, literally

Seems like quite a few 4WD owners are building mounts for their iPad in front of the dashboard. Not quite sure why, although it might be a good way to display Google or other maps. There's quite a lot of discussion on 4WD forums about the best way to make some kind of support. But potentially there's a big problem on vehicles with a passenger airbag; the mount may interfere with the correct functioning of the airbag, some of which inflate to cover an area from the passenger door to almost the driver's seat. The picture is an example. Other airbag designs inflate to a width no greater than the passenger seat, so you really need to know which one you have. Of course, it's only a problem if you have a decent prang and an airbag is only a supplementary system; having the seatbelt on is the first line of defence. But with all the other hassle that follows a crash, I'm not sure I'd want to add to the list having to explain to the insurance company/cops why I'd purposely obstructed the proper functioning of an airbag. Just a thought.

2 comments:

  1. Good point. I was thinking of building a platform for a laptop on my Toyota, which has a passenger airbag. Don't think I will now.

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  2. Owen, Toyota NZ has a good customer service centre. If you called them you might be able to get a diagram showing the spread of your 4WD's inflated passenger airbag.

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