# About the car in the Charlottesville attack **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 14, 2017, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-car-in-the-charlottesville-attack/793609 "2017-08-14T03:59:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-car-in-the-charlottesville-attack/793609/1 "2017-08-14T03:59:19Z")
And cars in general. The car looks to be a Dodge Charger. A few years old. To look at pictures, and seeing the videos, the crash was violent. He may have rear ended the other car at about 30mph. My question is - what about the airbags in the car? That certainly would have activated them. And once an airbag deploys, doesn’t that shut down a car? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-car-in-the-charlottesville-attack/793609/2 "2017-08-14T05:39:20Z")
A couple of previous threads: > **[After an air bag deploys will the auto still run?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=721195)** > > In a British sitcom a driver runs into a sofa in the road and his air bag deploys. He is not injured and after a brief kerfuffle he gets back in the car and drives away. Can that really happen? > **[Driving during and immediately after airbag deployment](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=584482)** > > Is it mechanically possible for a car be in a head-on collision that causes the airbags to deploy and keep driving? And would a person wearing no protection above the neck be able to maintain\\regain reasonable control of a vehicle? I understand... The answer seems to be yes, a car can still be drivable after the airbags go off. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-car-in-the-charlottesville-attack/793609/3 "2017-08-14T10:37:12Z")
nitpick - It was a Dodge Challenger, not a Charger Cars are operable after airbag deployment. The bags quickly deflate, and you just have a deflated bag in your lap hanging form the steering wheel to deal with. It’s obvious the Nazi asshole in Charlottesville was able to reverse out and drive many blocks away. If his reason for eventually stopping was crash related, it is likely nothing to do with the airbags, and more to do with the substantial damage to the radiator or other vital mechanical parts in the front of the car. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-car-in-the-charlottesville-attack/793609/4 "2017-08-14T12:46:40Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > Cars are operable after airbag deployment. The bags quickly deflate, and you just have a deflated bag in your lap hanging form the steering wheel to deal with. It’s obvious the Nazi asshole in Charlottesville was able to reverse out and drive many blocks away. Correct. I was in an accident (not my fault) a couple of years ago in which the driver’s side airbag deployed. After the police came and went, I drove the car straight to a body shop I’ve previously used, with the deflated airbag and damaged steering wheel in front of me. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-car-in-the-charlottesville-attack/793609/5 "2017-08-14T12:51:04Z")
Thanks. I thought that the electronics where shut down. Say power to the fuel pump, things like that. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-car-in-the-charlottesville-attack/793609/6 "2017-08-14T13:09:52Z")
Cars can hit multiple things in an accident. An airbag will deploy once, when the car’s sensors detect that it may help, and it will then deflate to get out of the way so that the driver may be able to avoid any subsequent collisions. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-car-in-the-charlottesville-attack/793609/7 "2017-08-14T13:31:13Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Thanks. I thought that the electronics where shut down. Say power to the fuel pump, things like that. My 1986 Mustang had a impact switch that cut off power to the fuel pump. But, no air bags… ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-car-in-the-charlottesville-attack/793609/8 "2017-08-14T14:32:46Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > My 1986 Mustang had a impact switch that cut off power to the fuel pump. > But, no air bags… I had a similar vintage Mustang and that switch was so sensitive that a rough gravel road could cut off the fuel pump. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-car-in-the-charlottesville-attack/793609/9 "2017-08-14T15:54:20Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > And cars in general. > > The car looks to be a Dodge Charger. A few years old. To look at pictures, and seeing the videos, the crash was violent. He may have rear ended the other car at about 30mph. > > My question is - what about the airbags in the car? That certainly would have activated them. And once an airbag deploys, doesn’t that shut down a car? It’s not a guarantee that the airbags deployed. I was in a car that rear-ended another at a speed similar to that shown and the bags did not go off. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-car-in-the-charlottesville-attack/793609/10 "2017-08-14T21:39:45Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > My 1986 Mustang had a impact switch that cut off power to the fuel pump. > But, no air bags… More correctly, that is a rollover switch. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-car-in-the-charlottesville-attack/793609/11 "2017-08-15T00:29:04Z")
There are online photos of the car after the crash, probably as he was backing-up. It does not appear the airbags deployed - at least not from the steering wheel - you can see the outline of his wretched head. So the OP question remains. Anyway, thru my occasional viewing of Russian dash cam videos, some cars automatically have their hazards turn on after a collision - I guess the Dodge does not have that feature. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-car-in-the-charlottesville-attack/793609/12 "2017-08-16T14:05:38Z")
> [@Whiskey\_Dickens](#): > > More correctly, that is a rollover switch. Sorry, no. Not in this case. > [@](#): > > 1986-2004 Mustang Fuel Cutoff Inertia Switch & Harness > This 1986-2004 Mustang fuel cutoff inertia switch shuts off your electronic fuel pump in the event of a collision. This safety feature is important to keep your fuel from dumping on the ground or in your car after a wreck. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-car-in-the-charlottesville-attack/793609/13 "2017-08-16T14:28:11Z")
Fords had discrete inertia switches for a long time; it was always “amusing” when you’d inadvertently trip it by trying to persuade a nearby part into place. One time I was replacing the tail light on a Sable, and the inertia switch was right next to it in the trunk. Took me a bit to figure out how changing light bulbs would cause the car to not start. IIRC that’s been done away with in newer cars, the PCM/BCM will just disable the fuel pump if the RCM records a severe enough collision. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-car-in-the-charlottesville-attack/793609/14 "2017-08-16T16:28:21Z")
I had a Ford of that era. The reset for it was a simple pushbutton. So if you did have an accident that left the car mechanically drivable but with the fuel pump disabled all you had to do was push the reset button and it started right up. \*If \*you knew the button existed and where it was hidden. 🙂 With the later models that disable via BCM/PCM is there commonly a reset capability the end-user can access on the spot or does it take a shop and an OBD interface to reset? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-car-in-the-charlottesville-attack/793609/15 "2017-08-16T17:25:50Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > My question is - what about the airbags in the car? That certainly would have activated them. And once an airbag deploys, doesn’t that shut down a car? Airbags are generally designed to deploy in response to 15 mph-plus impacts with a solid or slightly deformable barrier. People are moderately-to-severely deformable, so running into a bunch of people is certainly not guaranteed to trigger them. That is particularly true when hitting relatively small objects like legs because it’s easily possible that no individual impact was close enough to a sensor to trigger deployment. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-car-in-the-charlottesville-attack/793609/16 "2017-08-16T17:54:11Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Airbags are generally designed to deploy in response to 15 mph-plus impacts with a solid or slightly deformable barrier. People are moderately-to-severely deformable, so running into a bunch of people is certainly not guaranteed to trigger them. That is particularly true when hitting relatively small objects like legs because it’s easily possible that no individual impact was close enough to a sensor to trigger deployment. Yeah, but he rear ended a car going about 30mph. Did you see the damage to the front of the vehicle, surprised the radiator wasn’t destroyed. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-car-in-the-charlottesville-attack/793609/17 "2017-08-16T18:36:47Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I had a Ford of that era. The reset for it was a simple pushbutton. So if you did have an accident that left the car mechanically drivable but with the fuel pump disabled all you had to do was push the reset button and it started right up. \*If \*you knew the button existed and where it was hidden. 🙂 > > With the later models that disable via BCM/PCM is there commonly a reset capability the end-user can access on the spot or does it take a shop and an OBD interface to reset? I wonder if Ford was spooked by the widespread idea that Ford Pintos would explode if hit from behind? I know about that switch in Mustangs too, it was inside the hatchback area behind the taillights. I do know a 2002 Ford Escape has an inertia switch at the passenger side kick panel, it was much like my 1990 Mustang switch. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-car-in-the-charlottesville-attack/793609/18 "2017-08-16T19:07:31Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I wonder if Ford was spooked by the widespread idea that Ford Pintos would explode if hit from behind? > > I know about that switch in Mustangs too, it was inside the hatchback area behind the taillights. > > I do know a 2002 Ford Escape has an inertia switch at the passenger side kick panel, it was much like my 1990 Mustang switch. no, it was because fuel injection puts the pump inside the gas tank, and the pump is capable of 50-60 psi of pressure. if a fuel line gets severed in a crash, that would allow gas to spray everywhere. old cars had mechanical fuel pumps mounted on the engine, and there was no pressure in the fuel lines running underneath the car. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-car-in-the-charlottesville-attack/793609/19 "2017-08-16T23:54:24Z")
Cars are also fairly deformable. A 30 MPH collision with a parked car is roughly equivalent to a 15 MPH collision with a brick wall.