Black ice causes pileup - GIF

[Frank S]

But, with the air bag, you don't see it coming. The shrapnel just explodes into your face with no warming, so the fear factor that might make you drive more carefully is lost.

Several years ago I was riding with a friend of mine once we were driving through a large city on the freeways, he would run up right behind a vehicle in front of us then suddenly switch lanes weaving in and out of first 1 lane and then the other. After a while I asked him to please switch off the passenger side air bag. He gave me an astonished look and asked why. I said because I'd like for at least one of us to survive the wreck we are going to have from the way you drive. He muttered something unintelligible then said the switch in the glove compartment switch it off it you want. I did and it wasn't 2 minutes later that someone who was a more aggressive driver than he side swiped us, not bad just enough to exchange paint colors. Not his fault somehow, and not hard enough to set off any bags, but he blames me to this day for causing the accident.