Newbie questions: Yaris and child safety, buying used, compared to Scion, etc.

[roxy1]

Originally Posted by supmet

That's scary if you pull out in front of snow plows on a daily basis, but that's a one in a million crash. I recommend the side air bags, but that's one of the most retarded test setups I've seen. The front end of the test sled is taller and more solid than any vehicle on the road. Its like it was custom built to hit the yaris' sweet spot. Plus, a sitting car(when's the last time you got t-boned sitting still) has more resistance to sideways force than a moving car. I'll bet 999/1000 real world tests with a moving yaris and any pick of t-boning cars at 30 mph - the yaris driver walks away with minor cuts and bruises, curtain air bags or not.

on a side - I like how the narrator says "with the curtain air bags, the driver and back passengers are likely to not receive AAAANNNYYY injury" right as the neck on the back passenger is exploding into pieces from the force of the airbag

-there are plenty of larger vehicles that would intrude into a small car at those points. there are many stationary objects that could intrude at all points high and low (think telephone pole or tree). at very high speeds, it may not matter, but at more reasonable speeds, that side airbag could make all the difference.

-side impacts are not a "one in a million" event



to the OP, no, side airbags would not make it legal to have a smaller child in the front seat. there are side curtain airbags in the rear of all 2009 yaris. i also agree that if you want a sedan, you might as well see what kind of price you can work for a corolla vs a yaris sedan.

[yarro]

Originally Posted by roxy1

to the OP, no, side airbags would not make it legal to have a smaller child in the front seat.

Sorry if my question was unclear. What I meant was would it be legal/illegal for a small child to be the back seat, since there would be bags back there. I'm guessing it's OK because the rear bags would not deploy into the child's face. Is that right?

[roxy1]

Originally Posted by yarro

Sorry if my question was unclear. What I meant was would it be legal/illegal for a small child to be the back seat, since there would be bags back there. I'm guessing it's OK because the rear bags would not deploy into the child's face. Is that right?

it would have to be since i believe many (all?) cars are now made with rear curtain airbags.

[supmet]

Originally Posted by roxy1

-side impacts are not a "one in a million" event

side impacts aren't, but aside from spinning perfectly into a telephone pole(and still then your car will rotate some, not just wrap, unless your going incredibly fast, and at that point I doubt a 1 inch thick bag of air will save you) nothing is as solid as that sled. Walls are, but that won't enter the vehicle like the sled. Ask Saildesign, he just got t-boned by a minivan and walked away. Why? Because the minivan wasn't solid steel, and didn't hit center mass to center mass(that's the 1 in a million part). If the sled was 1 inch to the left or right, the yaris would have spun, instead of wrapping, and the sled wouldn't have entered the cabin. If the sled had a crumple zone and a bumper(a bumper required by law to be lower than the windows) like 99% of cars, they would have been fine.

Side impacts happen, and curtain airbags will definitely happen. But like I said, that test is ridiculous. It looks like some big-SUV propaganda to me..