Side Curtain Airbags & Kids

N

nickg

Guest
I'm considering the purchase of a Ford Escape, and have been considering the option of side curtain airbags.

I have 2 children, 8yrs and 4yrs, and am wondering about the safety of this option. The kids have a habit of falling asleep on long car trips (as most do), which usually ends up with them leaning against or toward the door.

Do side curtain air bags pose a paticular safety risk in this situation?
 
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joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
Yes, leaning on a door with an airbag is potentially very dangerous. You could use a highback booster for sleep support on long trips (an average sized 8 year old does still need to be in a booster to assure the lapbelt is riding low on the hips http://www.carseat.org/Boosters/630.htm ...but you could get a seat with a removeable back and only use the back on sleeping-length trips).
You could also speak with the dealer or someone higher up at Ford to find out if the airbags come deactivated, or can be deactivated (this can be a difficult procedure, though).

If it were me, I'd prefer that my kids have the protection of the side airbags, and would just go with the booster. It's the safest, easiest, and even most comfortable option (those little headwings on the Turbo, Big Kid, Starriser Comfy, Bodyguard, Compass, and Cosco Protek are great sleep support!)
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
You may want to rethink this.

The side airbags will deploy in a side impact (or sometimes a highly oblique front crash). You are concerned that your child resting against the door could be injured by the airbag? I'd be worried about the striking car intruding into the vehicle.

There's no reason to consider "deactivating" the side airbags.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
I wasn't recommending it, just throwing it out there, as it is an option. Here's the current NHTSA recommendation, at any rate:
The revised National Standardized Child Passenger Safety Training
Program Curriculum, 1/04 contains the following statements:

>>>Module F:
The automotive industry developed voluntary test protocols for
assessing the safety risks of the different types of side air bags.
Only the current head-only side air bags have met the requirements.
Future chest and chest/head combination air bags are expected to
comply.

Chest side air bags and chest/head combination side air bags that do
not meet the automotive industry voluntary test protocol pose a
serious risk to children who are in close proximity to the air bag
opening at the time of deployment.

The current head-only side air bags have minimal interaction with and
have not shown any safety risks for properly restrained or
out-of-position children or adults.

Module I:
There are no studies right now that indicate a child properly
restrained in a child restraint is at risk from current side impact
or curtain-style air bags, but unrestrained and out-of-position
children could be injured.<<<

And here's the word from www.carseat.org: >>>Side-impact air bags are much smaller and emerge with less force. There are no studies published thus far that indicate a child properly restrained in a CR is at risk from current side-impact air bags, but laboratory simulations indicate that unrestrained and out-of-position children could be injured, including those leaning against the door while sleeping. NHTSA recommends that children not be placed next to active side air bags unless the vehicle manufacturer states that it is safe. For best protection, the child should be restrained in an age- and size-appropriate CR or booster in the center rear position. If there are side-impact air bags in the rear seat and the child must be in an outboard seat, do not leave any objects, such as toys or even pillows, between the child or CR and the door. In addition, if the child is in a booster, remind her not to lean out of the booster and to keep head, arms, and legs away from the door.<<<
 
N

nickg

Guest
joolsplus2 said:
you could get a seat with a removeable back and only use the back on sleeping-length trips).

The booster seat with a removable back sounds like it may be the best solution.

joolsplus2 said:
The current head-only side air bags have minimal interaction with and
have not shown any safety risks for properly restrained or
out-of-position children or adults.

This seems to be the scenario that best applies. My concern would be that as the airbag deploys from the headliner it would be coming down on top of the head of a child who was slightly out of position, leaning toward the door/window. I've got a question about this in to Ford as well.

Thanks for the feedback! Any other thoughts?
 

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