Rear side air bag option and kids
07-01-2016, 03:36 PM
#1
AudiWorld Senior Member
Thread Starter
Rear side air bag option and kids
Hey guys
Currently negotiating with a dealer on 6% off MSRP for a custom order and my question is about the side air bag option. One thing I love about Audi is the style and performance but safety is very important to me as well. I have a family; wife and a 1 1/2 year old daughter and of course she's in rear facing car seat for the next couple of years.
My question... would this be a good safety option to pick up or would it end up hurting my child more if we're in a car accident? If I'm looking at keeping this car for the next 5 years we're looking at her being a little over 6 and maybe another child if we decide to have one before I got another one.
I'll start some internet researching on this one in the mean time. Any opinions would be very helpful. $350 isn't anything if my daughter is safe!
Currently negotiating with a dealer on 6% off MSRP for a custom order and my question is about the side air bag option. One thing I love about Audi is the style and performance but safety is very important to me as well. I have a family; wife and a 1 1/2 year old daughter and of course she's in rear facing car seat for the next couple of years.
My question... would this be a good safety option to pick up or would it end up hurting my child more if we're in a car accident? If I'm looking at keeping this car for the next 5 years we're looking at her being a little over 6 and maybe another child if we decide to have one before I got another one.
I'll start some internet researching on this one in the mean time. Any opinions would be very helpful. $350 isn't anything if my daughter is safe!
07-01-2016, 04:24 PM
#2
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Great question! I looked at this extensively a few years back when getting my 2012 A4. You should of course do as you suggest and research it all so that get comfortable with your decision but here is what I learned.....
Rear side torso air bags, like the optional ones in the 2017 A4 do indeed represent an enhanced safety feature in most circumstances. Adults and teens and tweens sitting in the rear outboard seats, no problem. Younger kids seated in those seats that are properly fastened (i.e. Regular seat belts) in a booster seat, no problem. Infants and really young kids seating in those seats are a problem. Doesn't matter if the infant is forward facing or rear facing. Or if the young kid is in one of those larger seats. They're just too little and too close to the exploding airbag.
In 2012, I had one young child still in a large forward facing car seat and the other in almost out of the rear facing seat. So, I passed on the airbags.
In 2016, I am now getting a new A4 with the rear torso airbags as the kids are older now, one in a true booster using the car's seat belt, the other big enough to just use the car's seat belt.
Admittedly, I keep my kids in seats longer than most people. Better safe than sorry.
FWIW, given your circumstances, I would pass on the optional rear airbags. But for your next car, spending $350 on them is a no brainier.
Rear side torso air bags, like the optional ones in the 2017 A4 do indeed represent an enhanced safety feature in most circumstances. Adults and teens and tweens sitting in the rear outboard seats, no problem. Younger kids seated in those seats that are properly fastened (i.e. Regular seat belts) in a booster seat, no problem. Infants and really young kids seating in those seats are a problem. Doesn't matter if the infant is forward facing or rear facing. Or if the young kid is in one of those larger seats. They're just too little and too close to the exploding airbag.
In 2012, I had one young child still in a large forward facing car seat and the other in almost out of the rear facing seat. So, I passed on the airbags.
In 2016, I am now getting a new A4 with the rear torso airbags as the kids are older now, one in a true booster using the car's seat belt, the other big enough to just use the car's seat belt.
Admittedly, I keep my kids in seats longer than most people. Better safe than sorry.
FWIW, given your circumstances, I would pass on the optional rear airbags. But for your next car, spending $350 on them is a no brainier.
Last edited by CPS2010; 07-01-2016 at 04:26 PM.
07-01-2016, 04:43 PM
#3
AudiWorld Super User
There is controversy among the public and Audi owners about rear thorax airbags. Dealers will discourage the ordering of the airbags because they don't want to have them in cars they will resell. I did research when I ordered my recent Audi's found their is no official NHSTA or Insurance Institute discouragement from having these airbags with children. There is plenty of anecdotal positions on the internet. At the end of research, I choose to order the airbags.
The controversy reminds me of when people refused to wear seat belts because it would interfere with them getting out of the car after an accident, or that they couldn't jump out of the car to avoid being hurt.
You will not get a consensus here. Educate yourself from authoritative sources and make your decision.
The controversy reminds me of when people refused to wear seat belts because it would interfere with them getting out of the car after an accident, or that they couldn't jump out of the car to avoid being hurt.
You will not get a consensus here. Educate yourself from authoritative sources and make your decision.
07-01-2016, 05:13 PM
#5
AudiWorld Senior Member
Thread Starter
Wow, I have no idea right now where the air bag expands from in the back but man thinking about it if it's from the side and she has her arm dangling or something her little arm would get slammed against the side of the plastic car seat. That sounds super dangerous. Again this is just some forward thinking with limited knowledge. Interesting about the resell comment. I do think if I go without the air bags I totally believe the car is one of the safest ones out there.
07-02-2016, 08:33 AM
#7
In case you haven't seen this link.
The Car Seat Lady ? Side Air Bags and Your Kids ? What You Need to Know to Keep Your Family Safe
Given side impact is the highest risk for children, it seems to me the benefit outweighs the risk. I would use a seat with builtin side impact protection for extra margin of safety. Since they wider and more likely to keep the childs arms out of harms way.
The Car Seat Lady ? Side Air Bags and Your Kids ? What You Need to Know to Keep Your Family Safe
Given side impact is the highest risk for children, it seems to me the benefit outweighs the risk. I would use a seat with builtin side impact protection for extra margin of safety. Since they wider and more likely to keep the childs arms out of harms way.
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07-02-2016, 08:39 AM
#8
The Exposure of Children to Deploying Side Air Bags: An Initial Field Assessment
The Exposure of Children to Deploying Side Air Bags: An Initial Field Assessment
CONCLUSIONS
This paper provides the first population-based estimates of the exposure of children to SABs. In model year 1998+ vehicles equipped with side air bags and in a side impact crash, 27 children per 1000 children in crashes were exposed to a deploying SAB. For those on the struck side of the crash, this number increases to 52 children per 1000 children in crashes. Initial experience suggests that the risk of injury is fairly low with only 10.6% sustaining AIS 2+ injury - all were either upper extremity fractures or mild traumatic brain injuries. An understanding of the magnitude and characteristics of the population of the children exposed to deploying SABs provides guidance to the vehicle and restraint designer as the SAB technology continues to evolve. These findings offer assurance that efforts by regulators and the automotive industry to minimize negative consequences from SABs to vulnerable occupants appear to be effective and cause no change in the current recommendation of safe seating for children in the rear next to SABs.
The Exposure of Children to Deploying Side Air Bags: An Initial Field Assessment
CONCLUSIONS
This paper provides the first population-based estimates of the exposure of children to SABs. In model year 1998+ vehicles equipped with side air bags and in a side impact crash, 27 children per 1000 children in crashes were exposed to a deploying SAB. For those on the struck side of the crash, this number increases to 52 children per 1000 children in crashes. Initial experience suggests that the risk of injury is fairly low with only 10.6% sustaining AIS 2+ injury - all were either upper extremity fractures or mild traumatic brain injuries. An understanding of the magnitude and characteristics of the population of the children exposed to deploying SABs provides guidance to the vehicle and restraint designer as the SAB technology continues to evolve. These findings offer assurance that efforts by regulators and the automotive industry to minimize negative consequences from SABs to vulnerable occupants appear to be effective and cause no change in the current recommendation of safe seating for children in the rear next to SABs.
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