What would you do?
02-02-12, 09:26 AM
#1
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What would you do?
Hello all -
Need your thoughts/advice on my dilemma - I have an 01 LS that I love - works great, love the ride, etc. I have two kids (3 yrs. and 1.5 yrs.) and both ride in the car a few times a week. The car seats fit perfect and there's plenty of room BUT i have one concern - if we were to ever be in a car accident, the rear side curtain air bags would most likely not deploy far enough to cover their heads in the event of a side impact and this has really been bugging me. I'm considering selling the LS to get a full size SUV so that the kid's sit much higher and would likely not be as affected by a side impact - I know SUVs are more prone to roll over but reality is 95% of our driving is around town. Please help me think through this - anything I'm not taking into consideration that keeping my LS might be the smarter move?
And just for the record, I know that odds of something happening are somewhat rare but just last month, a 23 yr. old girl that lives at the end of our street was T-boned less than five miles from our house and killed by a drunk driver who ran a red. These things really hit home sometimes...
Thanks
Need your thoughts/advice on my dilemma - I have an 01 LS that I love - works great, love the ride, etc. I have two kids (3 yrs. and 1.5 yrs.) and both ride in the car a few times a week. The car seats fit perfect and there's plenty of room BUT i have one concern - if we were to ever be in a car accident, the rear side curtain air bags would most likely not deploy far enough to cover their heads in the event of a side impact and this has really been bugging me. I'm considering selling the LS to get a full size SUV so that the kid's sit much higher and would likely not be as affected by a side impact - I know SUVs are more prone to roll over but reality is 95% of our driving is around town. Please help me think through this - anything I'm not taking into consideration that keeping my LS might be the smarter move?
And just for the record, I know that odds of something happening are somewhat rare but just last month, a 23 yr. old girl that lives at the end of our street was T-boned less than five miles from our house and killed by a drunk driver who ran a red. These things really hit home sometimes...
Thanks
02-02-12, 09:50 AM
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i have seen a few cars flip over in accidents where the drivers were not going more than 40 mph... sadly i even saw one happen right in front of me where the car that flipped couldn't have been going any more than 20-25 mph. just my observations but these roll overs at low speeds have always questioned what i know about math and the universe.
Last edited by sojah; 02-02-12 at 01:39 PM.
02-02-12, 01:38 PM
#5
if you are sure the SUV will spare your children, and you will sleep better at night and you have the money to upgrade do it. Those Audi suv's, the Q7 I think, look pretty neat. Then you have AWD for handling also.
02-02-12, 03:59 PM
#6
I was interested in this topic as a grandfather of a 4 year old, a 17 month old, and a 13 month old.
You say they have car seats. I did some internet research and found that air bags can CREATE issues with car seats. Check this site.
http://thecarseatlady.blogspot.com/2...-what-you.html
The car seats will protect the kids and the side air curtains will protect them from flying glass.
If you are t-boned you are probably toast anyway.
Don't do it. You say you love the car. Put the money to their college fund.
You say they have car seats. I did some internet research and found that air bags can CREATE issues with car seats. Check this site.
http://thecarseatlady.blogspot.com/2...-what-you.html
The car seats will protect the kids and the side air curtains will protect them from flying glass.
If you are t-boned you are probably toast anyway.
Don't do it. You say you love the car. Put the money to their college fund.
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02-02-12, 07:47 PM
#8
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Airbags are designed to protect adults with adult sized bones and anatomy/weight. Airbags are not designed to protect little kids especially toddlers. Not telling what side airbags would do with car seats. I would say its very difficult to predict without actual real life testing what a specific airbag in a specific vehicle would do to protect (or possible add injury) for a toddler in a car seat.
So large sedan versus SUV - each have pros and cons in various crash scenarios. I can tell you this - I sold our 06 Highlander (that my wife uses multiple times every day to drive our son to school, boy scouts, karate, band practice, etc). and got an 07 Highlander specifically because the 07 model had added side and side curtain airbags.
If it were me I'd likely stay with the LS - I think the risk of injuries might be approximately the same in a large heavy sedan with multiple airbags versus an SUV depending on the specific crash scenario. In actual driving I feel safer in the LS than in our Highlander but admittedly its a smallish SUV. The area where I live is overrun with people driving like D-bags in full size pickup trucks, Chevy Suburbans, Cadillac Escalades, you get the picture...Texas the land of passing on the right at 85mph , and burning Gas as fast as you can...yikes. .
So large sedan versus SUV - each have pros and cons in various crash scenarios. I can tell you this - I sold our 06 Highlander (that my wife uses multiple times every day to drive our son to school, boy scouts, karate, band practice, etc). and got an 07 Highlander specifically because the 07 model had added side and side curtain airbags.
If it were me I'd likely stay with the LS - I think the risk of injuries might be approximately the same in a large heavy sedan with multiple airbags versus an SUV depending on the specific crash scenario. In actual driving I feel safer in the LS than in our Highlander but admittedly its a smallish SUV. The area where I live is overrun with people driving like D-bags in full size pickup trucks, Chevy Suburbans, Cadillac Escalades, you get the picture...Texas the land of passing on the right at 85mph , and burning Gas as fast as you can...yikes. .
02-02-12, 08:21 PM
#10
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02-03-12, 09:43 AM
#11
02-04-12, 05:14 AM
#12
I would hate to tell you to sell the ls but if it makes you feel safer/sleep better knowing you and your family are in a suv, get the suv. My buddy just bought a vw toureg and I must say its pretty nice and the safety ratings were pretty hi
02-04-12, 08:50 AM
#13
"From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of motor vehicle deaths in the United States by year. On average in 2009, 93 people were killed on the roadways of the U.S. each day.
The number of deaths – and deaths relative to the total population – have declined over the last two decades. From 1979 to 2005, the number of deaths per year decreased 14.97% while the number of deaths per capita decreased by 35.46%. Traffic fatalities in 2010 were the lowest in 62 years."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...n_U.S._by_year
This is a list of motor vehicle deaths in the United States by year. On average in 2009, 93 people were killed on the roadways of the U.S. each day.
The number of deaths – and deaths relative to the total population – have declined over the last two decades. From 1979 to 2005, the number of deaths per year decreased 14.97% while the number of deaths per capita decreased by 35.46%. Traffic fatalities in 2010 were the lowest in 62 years."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...n_U.S._by_year
02-04-12, 09:13 AM
#14
I understand your point of you "sit higher" in an SUV relative to the ground and if you're hit by an sedan, you do better. What if you're hit by a truck, hit by a larger SUV, hit by a large sedan. Your original concern of the children not being covered on a side impact are still not addressed by being in an SUV instead, their heads would not be covered by the airbags. If you t-bone with anything moving at a relatively good speed (i.e. 40 mph+) then I don't believe whether you're in a 5 star side impact sedan is going to fare worse than a 4 star or 5 star side impact SUV.
Practice good driving, don't race off the green as if you were on a race track. Light turns green, give a quick look right and left before taking off to make sure atleast the immediate vehicles have committed to stopping.
I have three children, 8, 6, 4 and I have no reservations whatsoever of driving my LS over the RX or MDX. I think that "BIG" in SUV always give the occupants a false sense of security sometimes, and it's that false sense that might make us do things in it, that we would not do in a sedan, and that might result in more accidents than if we driving a sedan.
Practice good driving, don't race off the green as if you were on a race track. Light turns green, give a quick look right and left before taking off to make sure atleast the immediate vehicles have committed to stopping.
I have three children, 8, 6, 4 and I have no reservations whatsoever of driving my LS over the RX or MDX. I think that "BIG" in SUV always give the occupants a false sense of security sometimes, and it's that false sense that might make us do things in it, that we would not do in a sedan, and that might result in more accidents than if we driving a sedan.
09-02-16, 10:21 AM
#15
If/when I have kids, its SUV only. If you feel safe in a low car, thats awesome, if you think getting t-boned in a car is just as safe as an SUV, more power to you. But I will take getting t-boned in my GX over any car or even crossover any day. Chances of survival are going to be much higher. I know accident deaths in SUVS is on the rise, but so is the accumulative miles we drive as a population.