BOSTON -- We've all seen the crash video: dummies, being slammed against the car door, crushed, but for the airbag that deploys from nowhere, quickly upon impact.

Airbags are well documented as important safety features that save lives in serious crashes. But, what about when they deploy for no apparent reason? Some say they are actually safety risks.

Picture this: You're driving along and out of nowhere, without notice, you hear a loud pop and smell what you think is gun smoke. It's enough to give the faint of heart more than a jolt. That's what happened to one local driver.

Our case involves Ben Taddeo of Wrentham. Ben says the passenger airbag on his 2004 Volkswagen Jetta deployed exactly as described above. He was scared to death. Hearing the loud pop, he thought he'd been shot. As he tells the story, he managed to maintain his composure and maneuver his car to the side of the road. It was then he realized, the entire passenger side airbag, front and back, had deployed.

Because he hadn't hit anything, Ben was convinced it was a defective mechanism, so, with the help of his mother, he turned to Volkswagen for help, but, the company refused. Volkswagen insisted Ben must have hit something. Though not easily seen, a company representative insisted there was undercarriage damage and suggested the Taddeos contact their insurance company. But, when they did, an Arbella adjuster couldn't find any damage and called the air bag "defective." That's when Team 5 jumped in.

We checked records at The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and found 499 complaints similar to the Taddeo's, involving the side air bags on Jettas, Golfs and GTIs going back to 2001 and through 2003; all claiming erroneous deployments. In fact, NHTSA opened an investigation and confirmed that the airbags may deploy when there is no crash. But despite 100 associated minor injuries, they couldn't say it was a safety defect and didn't issue a recall. Additionally, Volkswagen told us, "there is no across the board serious problem here."

So, what's a consumer to do? Of course, if you've had a problem, report it to NHTSA using the link we've provided. And if you're concerned about having one in the future, check the safety record of cars like yours, also using the link we've provided. And, of course, we'll stay on top of this, too.

Happy motoring.