Side Airbags

Contrarian · Dec 8, 2004

I had a hard time deciding on this one or not. I ended up putting them in on assumption that Murphey's Law. If I spent the $300 on them, I'll never bit hit from the side and they will never actually save my life or prevent serious injury. If I didn't, then as soon as I drove the car some assshle in truck would hit me dead on and crack my neck.

Statistically are side-airbags worth while and is thre an insurance discount that makes it worth while?

thunderstorm144 · Dec 8, 2004

I didn't see a discount

Contrarian said:
I had a hard time deciding on this one or not. I ended up putting them in on assumption that Murphey's Law. If I spent the $300 on them, I'll never bit hit from the side and they will never actually save my life or prevent serious injury. If I didn't, then as soon as I drove the car some assshle in truck would hit me dead on and crack my neck.

Statistically are side-airbags worth while and is thre an insurance discount that makes it worth while?

My carrier (Allstate) basically says you either have airbags or don't. Sides don't change anything from what I could tell. Statistically, (and I am not a insurance rep or car accident guru), I would think that you're more likely to get hit in the front or back of the car than the side as you spend more time in this type of driving. Side hits usually come from the moron who runs the light while you are passing through. I'd guess that is a lower percentage of crashes than front ons or rear ends. BUT - that being said, I bought them anyway because I like the feeling of comfort in knowing that they are there just in case. It also wouldn't hurt in resale of the car. Besides, isn't spending 300 bucks worth it when you're talking about your noggin being protected from major injury due to your noggin breaking the driver's side window?? I would spend it everytime. I blow 300 a month in movies, dinner and hanging out with friends. Puts it in perspective for me.

Good luck with your new car!!!

GT-03 · Dec 8, 2004

The problem, though, with side impacts is that there is little-to-nothing between your body and the car hitting from the side at 60 MPH.

Yea, it is their fault for running the red light or the stop sign, and yea it is their fault for talking on their cell phone, but it is your body which gets slammed with all that force.

Side air bags is only thing that offers any protection or any hope, so far.

noirluispher · Dec 8, 2004

Save your $370 dollars. If you get hit from the side you will be toast either way, especially if they are going at a high rate of speed.

Contrarian · Dec 8, 2004

noirluispher said:
Save your $370 dollars. If you get hit from the side you will be toast either way, especially if they are going at a high rate of speed.

I have been hit from the side before. This happened about 10 years ago, and it was my fault, I phased out and went through a red light and a pickup hit me on the passenger side, nobody was sitting in it. It dented in the frame about 8 inches. Truck was probably doing only 10 mph at the time since he was just starting to acelerate.

Also had a friend lose control and hit a tree. His neck nearly went through the broken glass.

Although doing reseach on the internet, It seems like the side impacts are far less frequent than others.

streetdemand · Dec 8, 2004

Long time reader, first time poster. Of all the threads I wanted to respond too, I don't know why this was the one i picked. Just thought I'd toss in my .02 cents.

I recently sold my 2002 SVT Focus. I believe they all came with side airbags. I remember looking at the Insurance institutes rating's for my car with and without airbags. Without the side impact rating was 2 stars, and with it was 5 stars. I also saw something on Dateline within the past 6 months that showed that the institutes have found additional airbags to be of tremendous advantage in an accident. The gist I was getting from the show was that sooner than later all cars are going to have these airbags, and at that time they'll have to re-draw the scale. Because today just about any car with additional airbags is receiving the top rating, 5 stars.

Anyways thanks for reading, look forward to getting to know all of you!

wrx-no-mo · Dec 8, 2004

I will be getting them. Even front/rear impacts are usually not perfectly perpendicular impacts. There is often going to be some sideways vector, resulting in your noggin' smacking the side of car. For the price, it is tough to justify not getting them.

phantom05 · Dec 8, 2004

I personaly had this same struggle...as with all the options.
I chose to get the side bags.....simply.....the risk outwayed the cost.
It is not alot of money.....for some piece of mind.
not to say they WILL stop you from getting hurt....but I like the possibility .

66Satellite · Dec 8, 2004

B pillars are hard. Get them.

dannygat · Dec 8, 2004

the only reason i opted not to get them is cause the seats suck so much i will be replacing them anyways and the sideairbags are in the seats. The seats must have been designed for 300+ lb guys cause there is no side to side support for me and i am 6 foot 185lbs

Stang2k5 · Dec 8, 2004

Contrarian said:
I had a hard time deciding on this one or not. I ended up putting them in on assumption that Murphey's Law. If I spent the $300 on them, I'll never bit hit from the side and they will never actually save my life or prevent serious injury. If I didn't, then as soon as I drove the car some assshle in truck would hit me dead on and crack my neck.

Statistically are side-airbags worth while and is thre an insurance discount that makes it worth while?

I have them and am spending 1,100 a year for insurance in NY I have friends that have older Stangs and are paying close to 5k.

royb · Dec 8, 2004

i got them on mine and......

think the $$ is well spent but I don't like the airbag tag on the seat but I understand why it need to be there. Also, the side of ht e seat is hard and it might wear out quickly with the rubbing when you get in/out.

dannygat · Dec 8, 2004

5k a year for insurance.... i'm sorry but i would buy a 3cylinder geo if my insurance was that high

05mealready · Dec 8, 2004

It was not much of a choice for me. I order with the bags.

Stang2k5 · Dec 8, 2004

dannygat said:
5k a year for insurance.... i'm sorry but i would buy a 3cylinder geo if my insurance was that high

For a young man in NY insurance can get very expensive. Especialy if your in or near NYC or any of the 5 boroughs.

Contrarian · Dec 8, 2004

05mealready said:
It was not much of a choice for me. I order with the bags.

I'd sure hate to go to my demise thinking of all the people I had yet to piss off, humiliate, and destroy just because I wanted to save $300. And realistically over the course of the next 5 years I will spend more than that on lottery tickets hoping to win something with significantly lower odds.

Stangston · Dec 8, 2004

Side air bags shouldn't be an option on Mustangs; they should be standard. I don't understand why anyone would not get them, unless they intended on replacing the seats like the person above.

Just $300 to save the life of your best friend, wife, child, sibling, etc... Can you imagine not getting the side air bags, killing someone you love when you're smoked in the side, and having to live with the fact that they may have been saved if you weren't such as cheap ass?

My parents bought an Escape a couple years ago, and I told them to get the side air bags. Well, the car salesman claimed how less than 3% of Escapes had them, and that none of their Escapes were ordered with them. He said if we did want them, they'd have to order the vehicle and it'd take 3 months. The exact Escape we wanted was on their lot, minus the side air bags. I demanded my parents wait and order the car, and they did.

About a week after it was delivered, there were side impact crash tests on Dateline on all small SUV's. All of the vehicles in this class, including the Escape, were rated "poor," claiming that the passengers were likely to die. At the end of the story, it said, "But Ford insisted that we test one of their Escapes with the side air bags, and they provided us with one...... With the side air bags, the Ford Escape took our highest rating in the side impact test, "excellent," with no signs of head injury."

If you want to be cheap, skip the Shaker 1000, not the safety devices.

Mr_K_Code65 · Dec 8, 2004

Here's my 2 pennies on this subject. i agree that airbag save lives and all cars should have them (why is safety only something the rich can afford?). having said that, read the label on your airbags (check the side pillar post on many cars with side airbags). you'll find a label that says the airbags should be replaced at between 14 and 15 years - so if you plan to keep the vehicle for quite some time, consider the cost down the road - and weigh that against the value of your life or the life of your loved ones.

r22tech · Dec 8, 2004

just to add some rocks to this drink....Side bags ARE ONLY AVAILABLE WITH THE IUP OPTION..., so, the cost is actually MORE than $300 for many buyers out there!

StangDiego · Dec 9, 2004

Its amazing now how many cars are offered with standard side airbags. Many cars even have the option of head curatin airbags (some SUVs and minivans for all 3 rows!), and aren't there even a few with leg airbags? Side airbags should become standard on Mustangs, and they probably will eventually. Ford would save a lot more money on just including them now instead of being sued by someone in the future who claims that the Mustang does not provide adequate protection from side impacts if not equiped with airbags. When you are spending 25-30,000 on a car, whats another 300 dollars? Oh, and the IUP should be standard, cause it doens't look so great without it.

Plus, I think that one day, if you get into an accident, your whole car will just become one giant bubble of an airbag, and you can safely bounce away after impact without a scratch!

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