side curtain airbags

U

Unregistered

Guest
I need some quick information about the safety of side curtain airbags in the Toyota Sienna. Are they safe for kids in car seats? Do they add a significant safety factor to the car? (Enough to justify the extra $2800 to my husband?) We need a new car in the next 2 weeks so I don't have much time for research... Please help!!! Thanks
 
ADS

sirrahn

Active member
I have a Sienna....

and would personally not have bought it (or any vehicle) without the side curtain airbags. Here's a link to some IIHS info on side curtains in general. http://www.hwysafety.org/news_releases/2003/pr082603.htm

I have 3 kids in carseats and actually both our current vehicles have side curtain airbags. They are not believed to be a danger at all to properly restrained kids and may well be a benefit to them as well.

HTH:)nat~CPS tech
 
Last edited:

murphydog77

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
I agree with Nat--we bought an SUV in January and the first requirement was that it have side curtain air bags in back. Our next vehicle to replace our van will have side curtain air bags. IIHS, see link in Nat's post, conducts side impact tests and shows them on Dateline occasionally. In most cases, the dummies' heads would have struck the other vehicle as rammed into the side. That was enough for me to insist on them.
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
I own a 2004 Sienna & the side curtain airbags are one of the main reasons we bought it...along with teh LATCH in the back seat that the Odyssey's didn't have...
I got the Vehicle Skid Control, Traction Control & Side curtain airbags...your kids safety is worth more than $2800...
Both of my Britax Wizards & Britax Companion infant seat fit VERY nicely into it. That van received the highest crash test ratings...
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
Also the new Toyota Rav 4's failed or received a poor in side impact crash test ratings with out the side airbags & the Rav 4's tested with the side curtain airbags received a Good rating...IMO the side curtains are the only way to go!
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
However ... my cousin & uncle are EMTs -- they've said that side airbags are causing problems for rescue workers being able to remove passengers. They've told me that if the make/model crash tests similarly without the side airbags to forgo that option :confused:
 

UlrikeDG

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Can you ask them exactly what the problem is? I would think that they'd rather have difficulty removing a severely injured passenger over having no trouble getting a dead one out or that they'd prefer having to work harder to remove a moderately injured person instead of breezing through the removal of a severely injured one, but what do I know?

Personally, the next new car I buy will have side airbags, front and rear. I'd rather reduce my injuries than reduce the work for the paramedics getting me out of my car!
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
Yeah, they said only to choose not to have the side airbags if the side crash test ratings are about the same without them.... They said that the side airbags have a tendency to open after an accident when the emergency crews are there & sometimes the rescuers get injured by this & then passengers are obviously not able to be given the proper medical treatment as quick as possible otherwise -- like front airbags, the crassh has to signal the side airbags to inflate, but not every crash is the kind of crash to give that signal & it's only when the rescuers trying to get in the vehicle that it happens ... not in every case, but they said it is happening. I don't have any "real" info -- just what they told me at the last family gathering :confused: I think I remember the Honda CRV, for example, crash testing the same for side impact whether or not it had the side airbags, but I'm not sure how many cars do.
 

UlrikeDG

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Highway Loss Data Institute, "Institute research shows that in vehicles with side airbags to protect the head, the risk of a fatal injury is reduced by 45 percent among drivers of cars struck on the driver side. Side airbags that protect the chest and abdomen, but not the head, also are reducing deaths but are less effective (about a 10 percent reduction in deaths). Before the availability of head-protecting airbags, there was virtually nothing to prevent people's heads from being struck by intruding vehicles or rigid objects like trees or poles in serious side impacts."

The Honda CRV has only been SIP tested without airbags. It scored "Marginal."

The Toyota RAV4 with airbags received the institute's Best Pick status. Without side airbags it scored "Poor!"

The Camry scored "Good" with SIAB and "Poor" without them.

The Honda Accord also scored "Poor" without and "Good" with SIAB.

I didn't look at every vehicle, but the ones I did look at, SIAB made a huge difference in the side impact test performance.
 

Victorious4

Senior Community Member
I'm sure your info is a lot better than what I've found & it sure makes sense ... but I just double checked the NHTSA crash test site & it shows 5 stars across the board for the Honda CRV with and without SAB.
I'm wondering how the average person can make the wisest possible choice in buying a new car if the information varies so much & isn't as readily accessable to all -- I mean the sales people haven't been super about relaying the information :( I didn't even know about such information when I bought my Blazer, but I'm trying to collect as much as I can to decide what car to buy next. My cousin who's husband is a Sheriff, supposedly knowledgeable about passenger safety, and who's father is an EMT just bought a Dodge Caravan with both their approval & mostly because she did not want the SAB ... so obviously, I'm confused as to why these two men would urge her not to get the SAB when she has a toddler & small child?!
Maybe it just comes down to the fact that we live in a small sheltered farming area of a state that does not have the greatest of CPS laws in effect {LOL}
Every one, including my cousin & her husband, think I'm absolutely loony for having my 2.5 year old rear-facing @@
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
There are two sets of side impact crash tests. One from the NHTSA and one from the IIHS. In short, the NHTSA uses a taller dummy in a vehicle being struck by a car. The IIHS test uses a shorter dummy in a vehicle being struck by something similar to an SUV. Both tests are equally valid, but the IIHS test does put more emphasis on head injury. Side airbags with head protection will be more of a factor in the IIHS test. Ideally, you would like a vehicle that gets good ratings in both tests. The IIHS test is relatively new, so not many results are available. As Ulrike said, most vehicles with side impact airbags for head protection do score well in the IIHS test.

Many people remember the issue with frontal airbags in the early 90s. The first ones deployed with a lot of force. At the time, it was much more common to let kids ride in the front seat, too. The combination led to a number of fatalities. Many people figure side impact airbags will be the same. In fact, there isn't a single death yet attributed to a child passenger from side impact airbags, and only one to an adult. Risks from side impact airbags are associated with passengers who are unrestrained or those who are improperly restrained. The risk is also greater in older vehicles with early side airbag systems for the torso. Newer vehicles with side impact airbags for the head (like curtain airbags) comply with a set of voluntary standards and have been tested with out-of-position dummies in many extreme seating positions. These newer systems should pose very little danger compared to the protection they may provide.

It may well be true that kids in a 5-point child restraint gain little benefit from a side impact airbag. On the other hand, adults and kids in boosters should gain a significant benefit. I can't comment on removing passengers with a deployed airbag, but I suspect I'd rather be able to help the EMT get out from a deployed airbag on my own power than have to be removed with serious head injuries.

The very short answer is to make sure all passengers are properly restrained in seat belts or child restraints with kids 12 and under in back. That alone will keep your kids very safe. If you can buy a vehicle with good ratings in all the crash tests and a full set of advanced safety features, your family will be even safer.

Also:

http://www.car-safety.org/carguide.html
http://www.suvsafety.info
 

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