Airbags are an amazing feat of engineering—a safety feature so effective, they've spread from the steering wheel to just about every surface of a new car's interior.
But just how quickly does an airbag have to work to do its job?
Judging by this video from Honda, the margin of error is astoundingly thin: Just 1/100th of a second can make all the difference.
Check out how the properly-functioning airbag captures the falling watermelon, gently cradling it to a stop without causing any damage. Then watch as an infinitesimally small time delay changes the equation dramatically.
To be fair, this is a rather exaggerated example. The visual of an exploding watermelon bears an unsettling (and obviously not accidental) resemblance to that famous scene from the movie Scanners, a spray of red explosion that will make you think twice about ever coming within 20 feet of an airbag again.
It's a scare tactic, plain and simple, designed to rattle you into insisting on genuine OEM replacement parts rather than aftermarket knockoffs. That's often a good idea, especially when it comes to airbags.
Of course, Honda hasn't got the greatest track record lately when it comes to airbags: It was discovered that the automaker knowingly hid data from the NHTSA about injuries and fatalities caused by shrapnel-shooting malfunctioning airbags from now-disgraced supplier Takata.
- Massive Takata Airbag Recall: Everything You Need to Know, Including Full List of Affected Vehicles
- India Adopting First-Ever Crash-Test Standards, Major Automakers Would Fail [w/Video]
- Honda Accord Full Coverage: Reviews, Specs, Photos, and Pricing
Perhaps the better takeaway here is this: A properly functioning airbag is capable of safely, gently catching your speeding melon. And watching it happen in slow motion is pretty amazing.
This story originally appeared on roadandtrack.com via Sploid.
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