NHTSA Complaint #10967413 — 1994 ISUZU TROOPER

22 YEARS AGO, ON FEB. 22, 1995 I WAS DRIVING DOWN SILVERADO CANYON RD., WHICH IS A VERY CURVY 2 LANE ROAD. AFTER A CURVE I SAW 2 CARS DRIVING TOWARDS ME, ONE PASSING THE OTHER, COMING TOWARDS ME IN MY LANE. I DID THE ONLY THING I COULD AND MOVED ~5-7 FEET TOWARDS THE RIGHT AND FLIPPED OVER IN A COUNTER-CLOCKWISE DIRECTION. MY TRUCK DID NOT HAVE TAKATA AIRBAGS (SO THEY TOLD ME) BUT MY AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. WHEN I TOLD THIS TO THE ISUZU SPOKESPERSON (2-3 YRS LATER) HE TOLD ME THAT NO CAR'S AIRBAGS DEPLOY IN ROLLOVERS BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT PROGRAMMED TO DO SO. WHEN I ASKED WHY HE SAID THAT IN STUDIES THAT WERE DONE THERE WASN'T ANY INCREASE IN SURVIVAL IN ROLLOVERS EITHER WITH OR WITHOUT DEPLOYMENT OF AIRBAGS. CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW I FELT. WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO DO SURVIVE? WHAT ABOUT ME AND EVERYONE ELSE IN A LEFT HANDED (COUNTERCLOCKWISE) ROLL. I KNOW BECAUSE I WAS IN A CLOCKWISE ROLL TOO AND MY HEAD STAYED STRAIGHT UP AND I SURVIVED BETTER. IN A LEFT ROLL THE DRIVER'S HEAD HITS THE WINDOW AND THEY OFTEN DON'T SURVIVE. IF THEY DO THEY WILL HAVE A SEVERE TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY AND ARE USUALLY DISABLED FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES. I WAS IN A COMA FOR TWO WEEKS AND SPENT TWO YEARS IN NEUROREHABILITATION. I WISH I WAS ABLE TO WRITE THIS TO YOU MUCH SOONER BUT PLEASE WHEN THE NEW AIRBAGS COME IN, MAKE SURE THEY DEPLOY IN ROLLOVERS TOO. I HOPE THIS LETTER MAKES UP FOR THE PEOPLE WHO DIED IN ROLLOVERS IN THE PAST TWENTY YEARS. YOU SEE I'M A MEDICAL DOCTOR WHO HOPES TO SEE SOME GOOD COME OUT OF MY SURVIVING THAT TERRIBLE CAR ACCIDENT. EVEN MY INSURANCE, STATE FARM SAID I WAS IN A SINGLE CAR ACCIDENT WHEN I SAW WHITE AND RED PAINT ON THE LEFT SIDE OF MY GREEN ISUZU TROOPER. I WISH I COULD HAVE WRITTEN THIS SOONER BUT I HAVE MANY LONG TERM MALADIES THAT CAUSED ME TO KEEP FORGETTING. MAYBE GOD REMINDED ME TO WRITE WHEN THE TAKATA RECALL WAS GOING ON. THEY'RE IN MILLIONS OF CAR