Hi,

A mate of mine's father in law just bought a new Jetta and within only 2 weeks of having it was in an accident. 4 cars & a truck involved in this accident...and the only one burnt was the Brand new VW Jetta. Thankfully John's o.k, air bags did not deploy, no one can explain why. Looks like everything BUT the impact bar was hit, maybe thats why. But you would think the impact everywhere else should have triggered them.
Man did this thing BURN.
It was replaced with another brand new one exactly the same as he had. I think im just as safe in my 69 bug.

A lot of people who thought air bags were going to save them, now have dirt over them. Secret is not to get yourself in the situation were you need secondary safety devices. My2c

If the body panels in the pic are that way because of the colision, and why would they be otherwise, I reckon I'd be asking the question why the air bags didn't deploy, lucky he didn't end up on the steering wheel I think (except for the seat belts obviously).

The main structure of the chassis doesn't look like it's been touched, so perhaps the car didn't decelerate quickly enough to need airbags. If the driver was OK, then that's a good indication that the airbags probably weren't needed. An airbag going off is a very violent event and they can cause injuries by themselves, so the computer will only use them when it is necessary.

was the car hit in the rear end first, pushing the car into the truck? if so airbags dont deploy in rearenders
the front wheels look to be turned, again, if the car was cornering the airbags wont deploy.
if the driver was already braking hard with the ABS activated the deceleration unit wont register a sudden stop
there are a number of factors and reasons as to why airbags wont act, you canot rely on them to save you.

jesus is my airbag!