like i said, i dont know 100% about the side airbags, but in traffic accident reconstruction school i learned that about the frontal. in some instances airbags would do more harm than good, if the computer decides that it is either not needed or will likely cause further injury, it wont deploy. you have to remember, airbag technology has come a long way in the last 10 years. its not just a sensor switch anymore that detects impact and deploys the bag regardless of the situation. these new Advanced Airbags turn off if a child is present, some wont deploy in certain situations depending on whether or not you are buckled up, some wont deploy depending on the weight of the driver, or the drivers proximity to the airbag. i too paid for the side airbags. i believe in having all the safety features available on any car that me and my family are going to ride in. as far as documented from the manufacturer, dont have that. i just know what i have be taught, and that i see the real deal almost every day and it seems to match up to what i have been told. maybe HazMat will see this thread. being a fireman, he probably knows more than me about airbags. i just figure out what happened after the fact. he is actually one that cuts people out of wrecks and saves thier a$$.
Thanks for your insight, GTNOS. I never thought about getting a 250mph punch in the head from an airbag before, but that makes perfect sense. If there isn't time for it to be fully inflated before you make contact, it's still moving at 250mph TOWARDS your head... front OR side! Lord willing, I'll never need the technology to decide whether or not to deploy, but if so, at least I know that the airbag isn't going to rearrange my face unless it's to my advantage! Hmmm... I hope there aren't any cameras in there to help with that decision... or the airbags might just deploy the first time I sit in her! :-)
Oh, and here's a thought for you: I believe(?) most accidents occur in intersections, and probably at speeds that would deploy the bags. So, when making a turn through an intersection, I have learned not to cross my hands over the steering wheel (kind of awkward not to do) so that if someone runs into me, I won't have my forearm slammed into my face by the airbag coming out of the steering wheel. It would doubly suck to have your face AND your arm/hand broken.
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/inju...3/images/A.gifir bags are typically designed to deploy in frontal and near-frontal collisions, which are comparable to hitting a solid barrier at approximately 8 to 14 miles per hour (mph). Roughly speaking, a 14 mph barrier collision is equivalent to striking a parked car of similar size across the full front of each vehicle at about 28 mph. This is because the parked car absorbs some of the energy of the crash, and is pushed by the striking vehicle. Unlike crash tests into barriers, real-world crashes typically occur at angles, and the crash forces usually are not evenly distributed across the front of the vehicle. Consequently, the relative speed between a striking and struck vehicle required to deploy the air bag in a real-world crash can be much higher than an equivalent barrier crash.
Because air bag sensors measure deceleration, vehicle speed and damage are not good indicators of whether or not an air bag should have deployed. Occasionally, air bags can deploy due to the vehicleÕs 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.
Most air bags are designed to automatically deploy in the event of a vehicle fire when temperatures reach 300 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. This safety feature helps to ensure that such temperatures do not cause an explosion of the inflator unit within the air bag module.
Front air bags are not designed to deploy in side impact, rear impact or rollover crashes. Since air bags deploy only once and deflate quickly after the initial impact, they will
not be beneficial during a subsequent collision. Safety belts help reduce the risk of injury in many types of crashes. They help to properly position occupants to maximize the air bagÕs benefits and they help restrain occupants during the initial and any following
collisions. So, it is extremely important that safety belts always be worn, even in air bag-equipped vehicles.
Please stay with this.... 
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