A 13 year-old Volvo S80 going at 30 mph hit a tree and the driver's airbag deployed. Examination of steering wheel in car lot revealed a starburst-like formation above steering wheel.

Sorry to hear of your injury, but airbags are designed to protect your head and upper body from hitting the steering wheel and from potentially dying. You are around to tell about it. They are not 100% in stopping injury. Air bags deploy very rapidly, serious or sometimes fatal injuries can occur if the driver or passenger is too close to or comes in direct contact with the air bag when it first begins to deploy. The star shape piece is probably part of the base of the ignitor.

When driving a vehicle equipped with a driver's side airbag your hands should be at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions. Not at the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock positions like we were taught years ago! Hope that helps! Jim