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Looks like we all made a good choice.
Link

 
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yeah, I saw that a while ago.... I think i've heard that the 7th gen's w/SAB are the 2nd safest passenger car of all time! any truth to that?

 
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Yah its true, we own a very safe car, my insurance company said that my car was a lot cheaper to insure than a Ford Focus. So not only are they safe but they save you money.

 
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Hate to tell you this but in an accident your car will not act that way. The way they crash test cars is bullsh!t. The way air bags work is there are these TINY little black boxes positioned in certain places on the car. For the airbag to deploy they have to be crushed(basically). The location of the boxes only will allow for deployment if they are stuck correctly. As for the tests they perform they use a wall because they would have a hard time missing these boxes using said wall. If you slam into the back of another car, for instance, chances are you are not going to hit it dead on and the boxes in the 7th gen (and most cars on the road) are very low in the front bumper. As for side air bags it is the same concept. I have seen so many cars roll over and none of the air bags have deployed. Just my 2 cents.

 
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I went into a tree with my LX sedan at 60km/h and the airbags didnt deploy =/
..now im scared with my Si (cdn) that the bag wont deploy

 
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Your credentials please?
-Numinous

 
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I don't have any credentials. I just know what I see. I have seen one to many accidents that the air bags should have deployed and they didn't. I have talked to three different Honda dealerships (plus many other people in the industry and people that do safety testing) and they agree with me. Look at the NHSTA web site and look at the complaints on there. A large (quite scary number I might add) are in regards to the SRS systems of any car. Personally I will take a 4 point harness over an airbag any day. I wish that air bags were an option in car versus the standard. That is just me.

 
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hey 2cute you are very wrong at that!!! The balck little boxes do not have to be crushed at all. To simplify it fo you the black boxes have a lmetal ball in it that carries current held in place by magnetic forces. When you hit someone the ball wants to continue moving thus breaking free from the magnetic field and deploying the airbag. Althought they are a lot more complex then what I just explained, I hope you understand you are wrong and that the tests performed on vehicles are accurate to say are vehicles are very safe. All cars go under the same test so how could a car that di worse in the tests do better in a real crash situation assuming the cars are the same weight becasue that adds another issue I will not get into.

 
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Airbags aren't a perfect science. I know when my '98 Civic got hit mine didn't deploy and I'm glad they didn't. I got hit from the rear and pushed into another car in front. My face didn't bounce off the steering wheel, so I believe that if my airbags had deployed I would have been in worse shape.

Pics of my wreck.

 
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I believe there is also a double checking system for deploying the airbags... when the sensors in the bumper go off, the onboard computer also has to register that the wheels have drastically gone down in speed.

 
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I'm proof that a honda civic can save your life let me go find the pics from my wreck and scan them and you guys will wonder how im alive.
GRIFF

 
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Hey, looks like the front of my car when I got into an accident! I assume you know this already, the airbags won't go off in anything other than a front end collision...from the looks of it, the nudge in the front cleared the bumper, and basically missed the radius in which the airbags' sensors will deploy at...I'm not entirely sure what I said is factual, but I'm somewhat sure I'm thinking along the right lines...someone please correct me if I'm wrong of course!

 
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2cute: you're sorta right/wrong... the NHTSA tests are crap. those are the government-mandated tests where they basically ram the car at 40 MPH in to a flat wall. gee, how many accidents happen like that, guys?

the insurance institute (IIHS, which is where the link pointed to) tests are MUCH more significant. they run the car at 40 MPH in to an offset wall -- only the driver's side hits the wall, for example... and they also do side-impact tests at angles, rather than a 90-degree "perfect" angle like the NHTSA does.

anyways, the point about airbags is this: below 30 MPH, it's uncertain that they'll go off, because the impact may not be strong enough to activate the sensors. above 30 MPH, it's pretty much certain that the force will be enough to set off at least one of the sensors, no matter where on the front bumper you hit. it's not much to worry about; the airbag's only helpful in higher-speed collisions.

 
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My boy wrecked his car at over 30 mph. He owned a Celica GT-S. His car rolled more than once. Looking at the car after the accident if nothing else the side bags should have deployed but they didn't. The front should have also but most definatly the sides should have. The doors were flat and nothing deployed. Luckily he was fine. I knew another guy that had an Integra as a loaner car and he was racing in it and totalled it. The thing rolled like 5 or 6 times. Both corners of the bumper were torn off same with the rear the hood was smashed in and the block was cracked. The doors were once again flat and none of the air bags deployed. There was a guy on this site that his bro got into an accident at I think it was like 60mph. He hit the car in front of him and the bags didn't deploy and his bro shattered his spine. Air bags do not work like they are tested. Plus something tells me that they only show the good results.

 
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oh well, moral of the story is this: don't drive like a moron and always wear your seatbelt!

 
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I am not finding a lot of validity in your claims. As for chosing a 4-point harness over an airbag anyday, just goes to show your ignorance! The purpose of you airbag is to slow down your tragectory toward the front of the vehicle, hence trying to save you internal organs from going through extreme stress. It's true that they may give you burns on your arms when they deploy and may hurt quite a bit but you could be injured a lot worse without one. It's a game of probabilites when designing these system. How much money and research time is spent on making cars safer? If the systems were flawed, how many lawsuits would result? There are too many injury lawyers out there and none of them would let this slip if they could make money off of it. All you can see is the bad for the systems and not the good!

What would you rather crash in? An older pre- 1970s car without seatbelts or your civic? I don't think you want to fly through a windshield, eh? How about one with just a waist seatbelt? I don't think you want to become a parapalegic either. Or how about an older civic(without an airbag) and have a head on crash at 40mph in it. Would you walk away from the crash? As you can see, cars have become a lot safer over the years and the airbag has saved how many lives?

Now, about the last crash you listed. Logic tells me that hitting a stopped car at 60mph is not the same as hitting a wall at 60mph, a wall wouldn't move. For one, the car in front would move in the crash, hence absorbing some of the impact. A airbag is made to deploy when a certain force threshold is surpassed and it they didn't deploy, chances are that threshold wasn't reached. Thus, they did exactly what they were designed for, not going off because that threshold wasn't met.

 
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Look all I'm saying is from what I have seen with airbags they are not worth ****. That is why I said I wish they were an option. So that people like you could get them if you want. As far as getting in an accident with a pre-70s car well you have to think the body of those cars were a lot more surable than the sheet metal used now. As far as a no air bag car yeah I will take that any day. From every accident I have seen i would prefer to not have air bags. If you want to go with it is a gamble well so is wearing a seat belt. I have known many people that would have died in an accident if they had been wearing a seat belt and as for an airbag same thing. I personally do not like air bags.

 
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Well, yes and no. They save you money on safety, but you lose money on theft. Honda Civics are very high on the list of stolen cars.

In 2000 this was the list:

1. Toyota Camry
2. Honda Accord
3. Oldsmobile Cutlass
4. Honda Civic
5. Jeep Cherokee/Grand Cherokee
6. Chevrolet Full Size C/K pick-up
7. Toyota Corolla
8. Chevrolet Caprice
9. Ford Taurus
10. Ford F150 pick-up

In 2001 it was:

1. 1991 Toyota Camry
2. 1989 Toyota Camry
3. 1990 Toyota Camry
4. 2000 Honda Civic SI
5. 1994 Chevrolet C1500 4x2
6. 1995 Honda Accord EX
7. 1994 Honda Accord LX
8. 1994 Honda Accord EX
9. 1988 Toyota Camry
10. 1996 Honda Accord LX
11. 1993 Chevrolet C1500 4x2
12. 1997 Ford F150 4x2
13. 1990 Honda Accord EX
14. 1991 Honda Accord LX
15. 1996 Honda Accord EX
16. 1987 Toyota Camry
17. 1997 Honda Accord LX
18. 1992 Honda Accord LX
19. 1991 Honda Accord EX
20. 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4x4
21. 2000 Chevrolet C1500 4x2 Silverado
22. 1995 Honda Accord LX
23. 1991 Acura Legend
24. 1990 Honda Accord LX
25. 1995 Honda Civic EX

 
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Can you expand on that? I'm just wondering what the accident would be that it was safer not to have restraints? The only thing I could come up with is if you got submerged or something like that...

T-X

 
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It is a safe car, when I go into my accident nobody was hurt (me driving, my brother in the front passenger seat, and my friend in the rear seat behind my brother). We hit a mini van from behind, and the front of the car did what it was supposed to do and took all of the force from the impact and crumbled. The hood and front body was gone, but us passengers were only jolted foward slightly.

 
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Example: back in the say my mom's b/f was in an accident where he rear ended a truck. From what I understand it was one of the trucks that hauls multiple cars. Anyhow they told him had he been wearing his seat belt he would have died due to the force of hiting the seat belt. They told him that it probably would have torn him in half. Now if you think about it had an airbag deployed in that same accident chances are he would have died from the impact. It would have been like running into a brick wall. I had another friend that was thrown from a truck. granted he went through the windsheild but had he been in the cab he would have been crushed to death. Just a couple of examples.

 
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..."Since 1990 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is responsible for vehicle safety rules and statistics relating to vehicles, found that of 19 drivers killed by airbags, only five of them were wearing seat belts and two of them were determined to be unconscious before the airbag deployed.

All new passenger cars are required to have driver and passenger air bags by Sept. 1, 1997 and all sport utility, minivans and light trucks will be required to have them a year later. "

This is from a report in airbag saftey. LISTEN people, airbags are not guaranteed devices to save your life, they are only meant to lessen you risk of severe injuries. It is simple physics, if you make the space between you and the steering wheel smaller, then you have a greater chance of not getting hurt. That is the purpose of the airbag, too shorten the distance. I have had an airbag go off before, it broke my nose. But I would have rather hit that at 50mph than the dash.

 
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First off, if a seatbelt would have torn him in half, chances are it was only a waistbelt, not the 3 point seat belt automobiles are manufactured with nowadays. If he had a proper 3-point seatbelt, what would the outcome of accident if he was wearing it and not wearing it? Now, what would be better? Hitting the windshield, hitting the steering wheel, or being restraint by a 3 point seatbelt?

As for your friend being thrown from the truck, he is very fortunate he wasn't killed! Every year, there are rural accidents here involving pickup trucks and not wearing seatbelts. So far, everyone wearing a seat escaped serious injury and those not wearing seatbelts wound up seriously injured or dead. How can you say that he would have been crushed to death in the cab? Did you see the truck? Measure the cab to see how much room was left? Or was that a blatant comment?

Take a look at APS's quote, automobiles are required by law to have airbags. Maybe there is something beneficial to them?

 
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First it was a 3 point harness and he would have died. He was seriously injured but he would have died. Second my friend that was thrown from the truck, yes I saw the truck. As for the cab, It didn't exist anymore. The roof was sitting against the seat. Seat belts are a lick of the draw type thing. I have no problem with seat belts but like I said before I would rather airbags be a option. I personally, like I said before, would take a 4 point harness before a airbag anyday. Look at race cars. I have NEVER seen a race car with an airbag but those have to be some of the safest cars around. They use harnesses not bags. That is just my opinion.

 
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okay, contrary to what you've heard, a seat belt will not cut you in half[IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG] That's actually one of the most rediculous comments I've ever heard! If you're wearing a 3pt seat belt properly, the lap restraint is what holds you in place and it goes over your pelvic bone. The top strap just absorbs upper body weight, not a lot. So unless you're telling me this belt would've sliced through human bone, then I kinda find it hard to believe! The worst you can get from seat belts is a bad bruise, but damn, they wouldnt cut through you!

Also, if you're so gung ho on getting rid of your airbags, then just do it for crying out loud and make some cash on ebay! Obviously no one is gonna convince you otherwise, so just remain stubborn about it and die in the accident You've probably got a better chance of being killed by a coconut falling on your head than a seat belt slicing through you![IMG]i/expressions/moon.gif[/IMG]

 
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the problem is with the IDIOTS in this country that don't wear their seatbelts. seriously, the US has only about 67% of its drivers wearing seatbelts, whereas in europe 96% of the drivers buckle up. that means here in the US, 1 out of every 3 drivers isn't using a seatbelt, despite all of the reminders, warnings, laws, PSAs, ad campaigns, and frickin' common sense. that's part of the reason why airbags are required... if people are stupid enough to not wear their belt, they might have a chance of surviving with just the airbag.

i agree with 2cute about taking a 4- or 5-point belt over an airbag anyday... but just think, if the morons around here are too lazy to put on a 3-point belt, how many do you think are gonna wear a 4-point?

there are rare occurrences where the airbag may indeed harm you or fail to protect you at all... but they work for the vast majority of the population, over 90% of the time. we place the same amount of trust in condoms... but you don't see people protesting those because they "reduce pleasure" or don't ALWAYS work properly... (yes, there are a few people that refuse to wear condoms; they either don't have sex or choose to take a huge risk... that would be like a driver refusing to drive, or chop the airbag wires. how many of those people do you know?)

 
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anyways

 
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Okay, if we do look at race cars, then we should also look at the conditions they are driven in. Race tracks offer the most predictable and consistent conditions. From these conditions, designers/engineers have a better grasp in designing safety features in the cars. The engineering going into race cars is amazing, they're are perfectly balanced and are stable beyond 180mph yet safe.

How much money is spent in designing the cars to being safe? Did you know that on a F1 car, only the front nose crumples 6-10" in a crash at 120mph? F1 racing has to one of the fastest and most dangerous racing out there, so, lets use it as an example. Take a look how long 4-pt racing belts have been around in F1, like prior to the 60s? Yet there were more driver fatalities in F1 racing in the 60s than there are now. A 4 point harness is not attributed to a safe race car but works in conjuction with the other safety features. What is the purpose of using a 4 point harness? Is it for safety or for holding you in your seat allowing higher/easier cornering speed?

 
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I think the bottom line here is that safety devices in cars are there for our protection - just as the engineering goes into a performance track car, the same goes for autos for the common person...now whether or not people choose to utilize these features is another matter.

2cute is more than entitled to her opinion, and that's fine...the incident with the truck she gave is a very VERY lucky thing, but I do believe that the other example she gave doesn't make much sense - I'm not totally convinced that the sheering forces of being in an accident would be enough to cut a person, but that's my opinion, not my personal tested fact.

I look at it this way: If something is there to provide me with a level of safety, I'm going to use it. A lot of testing and engineering went into these things, and if it means 9 times out of 10 it'll protect me, then I'm going to have it in, regardless of style or anything...

All one can hope is that it WILL be a useless item in the car...I'd hate to be 'forced' to conduct a test to see if they do work or not

T-X

BTW, my cousin was in a car that crashed without hitting anyone - the car jumped a safety barrier and rolled...the person in the front passenger seat was killed when she was thrown from the car. A safety belt could've saved her life, but we can't go back and change that now. My car doesn't work if people are not buckled up...that's just the way it is for me.

 
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Look I don't expect anyone to agree with me. That is the way I feel. I'm sorry if you don't like it. As far as my mom's b/f is concerned that was what he was told when the docs told him what had happened. He ran into the back of one of those trucks that hauls cars. You know the ones that have those metal tracks sticking out the back. The ones that sit just about the hood of a normal car. I think they were refering to that more than the belt. But if the impact is hard enough and the belt is in the right place then it is very possible to tear skin.