Concern over laptop mount with airbag

[Josh VandenTop]

This bothered me last year but I got nothing done about it, so this year I want to fix it. I have an '04 Trailblazer with a RAM mount laptop mount. Where it sits its right in front of the passenger side airbag. Roughly half the time I chased alone, but when I had other people with me I was worried about what would happen if the airbag went off. My vehicle does not have a switch to just turn the airbag off, I've talked to my uncle (who's a mechanic) about just unplugging it and he said that would likely disable the entire airbag system and the airbag light would remain on (which I would prefer over myself or a friend getting seriously hurt by it). My first question is does anyone else worry about this and if so what have you guys done to fix the problem? Second if you do unplug the airbar could this cause any potential insurance issues or anything like that? Any input will be greatly appreciated and used in making my decision for this upcoming season. Thanks.

Josh

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

I'd think If the laptop mount is in a position to be affected by the airbag, then the laptop alone is going to pose a risk to the passenger, air bag or not...

 

[Skip Talbot]

Its very dangerous to put a laptop in front of an armed airbag. If that thing goes off you've got several pounds of metal flying at 100 mph into the face of whoever is sitting in front of it. The best solution I've found is to just not put the laptop in front of the airbag. Is there not enough room in your Trailblazer to have it mounted between the driver and passenger (ie over the center console)? I'm sure lots of chasers do have theirs mounted over an airbag, but you have to be aware of the risks. I'd also be worried about it from a liability standpoint if one of your passengers are hurt in the process. A relatively minor accident that would have had no injuries, can set off the airbag and send the laptop in your passenger's face, and now you've got serious injuries. Sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

 

[Bill Hark]

I think it is illegal to disable an airbag. There may be away around it if you can prove that you are transporting children in that front seat. Newer cars will automatically disable the passenger airbag if there is no or a small amount of weight in that passenger seat. There is an indicator light that will show if the airbag is active.

As for the laptop mount (or any other piece of eqipment), mounting in front of an airbag is a serious risk. A small "fender-bender" could turn into a fatal accident for whoever is behind the equipment.

Bill Hark

 

[Adam Lucio]

I know airbags are powerful but is it possible that if the laptop mount [especially a ram mount and not a cheap homemade one] and the laptop strapped onto it that it could simply block the airbag or that the force of the airbag would simply slam the laptop shut? Its easy enough to picture both scenarios in my head though with a laptop being sent into someones face and the airbag not being affected and the mount/laptop holding firm.

Even if you aren't using a laptop mount though, chances are your passenger has their own laptop in their lap which would pose the same risk regardless. When I chase with people I keep my laptop pivoted over the center counsel pointed towards me and typically am not a fan of whoever is in the front seat keeping my laptop swung infront of them. Simple solution there. Sometimes a few simple rules between chasers can solve a potential problem, especially if its that much of a concern.

It is also a reason I would rather shell out a few extra bucks for a high quality mount that swivels and pivots as opposed to being a cheapskate and making one out of PVC pipe and wood planks.

 

[Jason Foster]

It isn't illegal, in fact my 99 Chevy Xtreme (sport package S-10) had a switch to turn the pass. side airbag off. Since we are talking a Chevy, might see if you can do some swapping. The reason there is a deactivation switch is that there is not a rear seat to place a baby seat.

 

[J Tyler]

Thank you for bringing this back to my priority list.

My wife is my chase partner, and I'm not worried about the airbag pushing the laptop into her face....I'm worried about the fact that the laptop BODY is sitting level with the ground, and it is strapped to a metal frame level to the ground, and that is all held in place by a metal stand. This way, if there is a front end collision, and the dash is pushed toward my wife, she could be horribly injured by the laptop body and metal frame being forced into her torso.

Because of that concern, we have tried to make an effort to pivot the laptop to where it sits over the center console area, but she has to turn sideways somewhat to use it that way, and after 16 hours of chasing, her back kills her. BUT, it is not worth the risk to put it back in front of her.

Anyway, thanks for reminding me. I don't want to get lazy and her get hurt.....

 

[James Hilger]

I seen a picture somewhere what happened when one went off and the stand barley moved. I think they were bragging about how good the stand was. It was on the outer edge of the path though. I wouldn't dream of putting one right against it.

 

[TJ Whitt]

Airbags deploy with a lot of speed and force. I know, I was involved in a high speed acident and had once go off in my face. For a laptop mounted on a laptop stand, it would have to be bolted down so the airbad wouldn't move it. Any velcro strap or anything like that, would not hold it.

There are several options. You could take your vehicle to a Chevy dealership and see if they can disable the passenger airbag, use a mount where you can swivel the laptop away from the airbag, or mount the laptop in a different location.

 

[Robert Rohloff]

I have seen airbags damage the laptops in our patrol units even with them mounted in the middle. I use the Ram Mount and have it swung over towards the center. I do believe both the Ram and Jotto Desk will take an airbag deployment. Your computer screen may break but I do not believe it will fly out of the mounts.

My Ram mount pole is also left of the passenger seat and if the passenger is wearing a seat belt the pole should not be a impact object. Any collision that forces the floorboard up or pushes the passenger to the left that far will be a very serious collision in and of itself.

I also would not recommend any alteration of the airbag.

 

[Josh VandenTop]

Here is a picture of about where it normally sits

It's hard to go over the center because then it get in the way of the shifter and e brake, but the way it looks to the the airbag might actually deploy over the laptop or even like Adam said it might just go around since the mount is pretty solid, but I don't thinks that's something I want to chance. I was reading that 05 and newer (one year newer than mine) trailblazers came with a shutoff switch for the passenger airbag, I was thinking about looking into if there would be a way to have something like that installed in mine.

 

[Tyler Allison]

It's not illegal to disable the passenger airbag if it has a switch for doing so. It _is_ however, illegal to remove/disarm them otherwise. I can't find the exact federal statute but I looked into this when I installed my RAM mount and found it.

 

[Josh VandenTop]

It's not illegal to disable the passenger airbag if it has a switch for doing so. It _is_ however, illegal to remove/disarm them otherwise. I can't find the exact federal statute but I looked into this when I installed my RAM mount and found it.

So did you do anything different with the mount, or do you just not worry about it

 

[Tyler Allison]

I'm chasing a storm capable of dropping grapefruit hail on me, I'm surrounded by other chasers who at any moment can swerve out and nail me and if, god forbid, a tree is picked up and flung in my direction I don't have armor to protect me.

An airbag deployment is a minor inconvenience.

-Tyler

 

[J Tyler]

As I mentioned earlier, I'm not so worried about the airbag as I am of placing an object in between my passenger and the dash. One that is only a few inches from their lower ribs (and the other side is close to the dash), and is flat and extremely hard. Ignore the airbag for a moment and image being hit head on with both cars going 30mph. You have a laptop mounted on a flat metal plate in between you and the dash.

I've seen how steering wheels get distorted during a frontal crash......Just thinking out loud here....