side air bags - safe or not? [Archive] - Car Seat.Org - Carseat, Vehicle & Child Passenger Safety Forums

Unregistered

04-24-2006, 03:17 PM

Hello,

We are new car shopping. What is known about the safety of different side air bags and air curtains? Are they safe with childre in car seats? Our current car, a Camry, does not have them and we have our only child in the middle. We are expecting and thinking of upgrading to a larger car. Many new cars have bags or curtains of some sort on the side windows. With two children, they will have to be next to the doors. ANy thoughts? Here are the cars we are thinking of:

Honda Pilot or CRV
Toyota Highlander or Rav4
Subaru Forester.

Thanks!

CPSDarren

04-24-2006, 03:59 PM

The general answer is that they are safe for any properly restrained passenger and can even provide additional protection for children. The last I heard at a conference presentation on this topic was that only one fatality (to an elderly male) and few serious injuries had been attributed to side airbags of all types and none were to children. I personally would not purchase a new car without side curtain airbags in all rows of seating.

That said, you do need to consult the owner's manual for any vehicle and child restraints regarding side impact air bags. It is possible some models may have restrictions. This is usually the case with older models that had early designs of torso mounted side airbags, but it may apply to others as well.

Most current vehicles also conform to a set of voluntary industry standards. This includes passengers who are out-of-position and/or unrestrained. You can see if a vehicle meets these guidelines by checking out the individual model reports at www.safercar.gov . For example, this one applies to the 2006 Honda CR-V you mentioned . Near the bottom you will see a heading titled, "SAB Out Of Position Testing" and the CR-V is listed as "Meets specifications."

The models on your list all look like good choices. You might also check out http://www.informedforlife.org/CRSriskorder2006.pdf for a comprehensive safety risk rating of current vehicles before you purchase. Good luck!