NHTSA Complaint #10021075 — 1995 CHEVROLET CAMARO

MY 16-YEAR OLD SON WAS INVOLVED IN A FENDER-BENDER. BOTH THE DRIVERS AND PASSENGER AIR BAGS DEPLOYED, DESTROYING THE DASH AND WINDSHIELD OF HIS 1995 CHEVY CAMARO. THERE WAS NO DAMAGE TO THE FRONT OF HIS CAR FROM THE CRASH, EXCEPT FOR A BROKEN FOG LIGHT, AS HE WAS TRAVELING AT APPROX 5-8 MPH. THE AIR BAG RIPPED THE DASH FROM THE FIREWALL, BURNED HIS ARM AND SCRATHCED HIS FACE AND ARMS. I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT IN THIS LOW SPEED THIS MUCH DAMAGE SHOULD HAVE RESULTED FROM THIS TYPE OF INCIDENT. WHEN I SPOKE TO PRODUCT ALLEGATIONS GROUP WITH GM, THEY AGREED WITH ME THAT THIS TYPE OF AIR BAG WAS DESIGNED FOR"MODERATE-TO-SEVERE CRASHES", NOT A LOW-SPEED INCIDENT. BUT UPON LOOKING AT PICTURES SUPPLIED BY THE LOCAL CHEVY DEALER, GM IS NOW TELLING ME THAT THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED BASED ON THE SOUND WAVES COMING FROM THE STEREO SYSTEM. WHAT A LOAD OF BUNK! IF THAT IS THE CASE, AIR-BAGS SHOULD BE GOING OFF ALL OVER THE PLACE. AND IF THAT WERE TRUE, ISN'T THAT ALSO A DESIGN FLAW? PLEASE CONTACT ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE....I BELIEVE THAT GM SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPLACING MY SON'S DESTROYED DASH AND WINDSHIELD, BASED ON THE FACT THAT THE AIR-BAGS WERE DEFECTIVE AND SHOULD NOT HAVE DEPLOYED UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES. THANK YOU. *AK