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Post Info TOPIC: Side Airbags Mandatory by 2008
Kevin


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Side Airbags Mandatory by 2008
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Air Bag, Other Safety Measures Advance in Senate

Thu Apr 14, 4:31 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Automakers would be required to install side air bags by 2008 under legislation approved by a Senate committee on Thursday that sets deadlines for a number of safety initiatives.

The Commerce Committee sent the safety provisions to the full Senate for action as early as next week as part of $284 billion highway and transit construction legislation.

The safety measures were not written into the version of the highway bill approved by the House of Representatives last month.

House-Senate negotiators will attempt to craft a final six-year highway blueprint later this spring.

Under the Senate bill, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would be required to complete a side air bag regulation by July 2008.

The agency proposed a side-impact protection rule last spring, which does not specify a requirement for side air bags. They are currently optional equipment, but are becoming more popular in new vehicles.

The committee also set 2009 deadlines for a rule to mitigate vehicle rollovers and a measure to reduce passenger ejections in crashes. NHTSA is working on those regulations but has chaffed at Congress imposing dates for action.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...dc&sid=95616386

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ifcar


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Torso, curtain, both, or either?

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thewizard16


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I have a feeling it's just the normal (torso) side airbags they're talking about, though I imagine curtain will come later.

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-Matt
MX793


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While some may expect me to bitch about this based on my feelings of tire pressure monitoring systems, I think this is a good move. Even a responsible driver can get T boned when some numb-skull blows through a red light, and side airbags can help reduce injuries and/or save lives. These may add cost and weight to cars, but I think they're worth it.

-- Edited by MX793 at 14:50, 2005-04-16

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ifcar


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quote:
Originally posted by: thewizard16
"I have a feeling it's just the normal (torso) side airbags they're talking about, though I imagine curtain will come later."


But what of the many cars that have the curtain airbags standard or optional, but no torso airbags? (The reason one of my choices was "either").

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thewizard16


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quote:
Originally posted by: ifcar
"

But what of the many cars that have the curtain airbags standard or optional, but no torso airbags? (The reason one of my choices was "either")."

I don't understand that, if they have curtains they might as well have torso, but I imagine when they issue legislation, they'll be specific about what type of airbags are required.

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ifcar


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quote:
Originally posted by: thewizard16
"
I don't understand that, if they have curtains they might as well have torso. "


How do you figure? By the same logic one could question the logic of having torso without curtain. It takes additional cost to engineer and manufacture torso airbags, whether you're already making curtains or not.

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thewizard16


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quote:
Originally posted by: ifcar
"

How do you figure? By the same logic one could question the logic of having torso without curtain. It takes additional cost to engineer and manufacture torso airbags, whether you're already making curtains or not. "

I don't know, it just seems to me that torso would be kindof a no-brainer any more because they've been around longer, and are more common. I personally think they should have both types, but I would expect the government to be more specific if they were requiring curtain airbags and just say they were requiring curtain airbags, rather than "side" airbags. By 2008 I would imagine most vehicles will probably have both anyway. My logic was that I'd seen vastly different crash results in the same vehicle without torso airbags, and with torso airbags, sometimes by a pretty large degree. I don't know if curtain airbags have made as big of a difference in crash tests or not.

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ifcar


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RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: Side Airbags Mandatory by
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quote:
Originally posted by: thewizard16
"
I don't know, it just seems to me that torso would be kindof a no-brainer any more because they've been around longer, and are more common. I personally think they should have both types, but I would expect the government to be more specific if they were requiring curtain airbags and just say they were requiring curtain airbags, rather than "side" airbags. By 2008 I would imagine most vehicles will probably have both anyway. My logic was that I'd seen vastly different crash results in the same vehicle without torso airbags, and with torso airbags, sometimes by a pretty large degree. I don't know if curtain airbags have made as big of a difference in crash tests or not. "


In the IIHS side crash test, curtain airbags have had a far greater impact than torsos. The head is just a more-important thing to protect, and it covers the front and rear seats.

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Kevin


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RE: Side Airbags Mandatory by 2008
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I would've thought curtain airbags be more important, because you're head moves more than your torso and it would move into glass.

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____________________ DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND MY CONTROL, MY BRAIN IS CURRENTLY NOT FUNCTIONAL. MY EMPLOYER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. AT THIS TIME, I HAVE NO WAY OF PREDICTING HOW LONG THIS ISSUE WILL TAKE TO CORRECT.
ifcar


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quote:
Originally posted by: Kevin
"I would've thought curtain airbags be more important, because you're head moves more than your torso and it would move into glass."


It's not the glass that's the problem, it's that the head can strike or be struck by whatever is hitting the vehicle. Happened frequently in the IIHS tests.

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Kevin


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quote:
Originally posted by: ifcar
" It's not the glass that's the problem, it's that the head can strike or be struck by whatever is hitting the vehicle. Happened frequently in the IIHS tests. "
Well I would think point of impact would be at torso, but there's more there already to protect you.

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____________________ DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND MY CONTROL, MY BRAIN IS CURRENTLY NOT FUNCTIONAL. MY EMPLOYER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. AT THIS TIME, I HAVE NO WAY OF PREDICTING HOW LONG THIS ISSUE WILL TAKE TO CORRECT.
ifcar


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quote:
Originally posted by: Kevin
"Well I would think point of impact would be at torso, but there's more there already to protect you."


Just look at the IIHS site for yourself (iihs.org), and you'll see their pics of the dummy's head flopping out the smashed window and into the incoming barrier.

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Kevin


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quote:
Originally posted by: ifcar
" Just look at the IIHS site for yourself (iihs.org), and you'll see their pics of the dummy's head flopping out the smashed window and into the incoming barrier. "
I figured that but you're last post threw me off I guess, I meant the window and not glass, my mistake.

__________________
____________________ DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND MY CONTROL, MY BRAIN IS CURRENTLY NOT FUNCTIONAL. MY EMPLOYER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. AT THIS TIME, I HAVE NO WAY OF PREDICTING HOW LONG THIS ISSUE WILL TAKE TO CORRECT.
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