- 5 Oct 06 AI: Study: Side air bags save lives "Consumers shouldn't buy cars without side air bags, says Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety." (see also the graph above) + IIHS: Side airbags substantially reduce death risk in cars & SUVs; those that protect people's heads are especially effective. Status Report: Surviving Side Crashes (PDF)
- ESV05 paper: Side Impacts and Improved Occupant Protection (some results of recent ANCAP pole tests)
- 2 Jun 05 Australian Govt: CURTAIN AIRBAGS SHOULD BE USED FOR HEAD PROTECTION IN VEHICLE SIDE IMPACTS
- 2 Apr 05: Video clip from ANCAP pole tests with a split screen showing the benefit of a curtain. (15Mb Quicktime movie)
- Mar 05 PDF of presentation at Renault Road Safety Seminar in
Sydney: It's
Curtains for Rollovers.(2Mb PDF)
- Nov 2002: Renault Clio in Australia has head-protecting side airbags - a bargain!
Curtain Airbags
by Vehicle Design & Research P/L[Updates] [JNCAP] [IIHS] [Pole test] [Pickup test] [List of
US vehicles]
[List of cheaper Australian models] [Links]
Curtain airbags are becoming common on all types of cars in Europe, not just luxury vehicles. One incentive is that, under the EuroNCAP protocol a vehicle with a side airbag that protects the head can undergo an optional pole impact test. If the results are good then the vehicle earns an extra 2 points. The Renault Laguna achieved 5 stars this way.
This page provides information and links on curtain airbags.
Updates
JNCAP - Toyota Crown
Here is an animation of a curtain airbag deploying. It is an edited clip from a Japan NCAP side impact crash test of the Toyota Crown sedan. The barrier hits at 55km/h (5km/h higher than EuroNCAP).
Credit: Clip by Michael Paine from a JNCAP video
Toyota Crown with deployed curtain airbag after the
crash.
Credit: JNCAP
IIHS Test Program
In the USA the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has performed tests that show curtain airbags are very effective in side impact crashes.Car striking pole
These snapshots from a IIHS video show a Volvo S80 colliding with a pole.
Pickup truck striking side of car
These snapshots show a collision between a Chev pickup truck and a Volvo S80.
In one test the curtain airbag was disabled. This is the
uppermost
shot in the split pictures. Circles show paint marks from the dummy
head.
The rear occupant would probably be dead without the curtain
airbag. With the airbag the crash was survivable.
List of crash-tested vehicles with
head-protecting
side airbags as standard equipment
Indicative only. Please check with your local vehicle
supplier for local vehicle specifications. See also this IIHS list of US models.
Last update 14 Nov 02. For links to crash tests see Master List.
ALFA ROMEO 147 (LHD) 2000 on
AUDI A4(LHD) 2000 on
BMW 3-SERIES (LHD) 2000 on
BUICK RENDEZVOUS(US) 2002 on
CITROEN C5 (LHD) 2001 on
CITROEN PICASSOS(LHD) 2000 on
DODGE RAM 1500(US) 2002 on
FORD MONDEO(E) 2001 on
HYUNDAI XG300/350 (US) 2002 on
JAGUAR X-TYPE(US) 2002 on
LEXUS ES300(US) 2002 on
LEXUS IS300(US) 2002 on
LEXUS LS430(US) 2001 on
MAZDA PREMACY(LHD) 1999 on
MERCEDES C-CLASS(LHD) 2001 on
MERCEDES C-CLASS(US) 2001 on
MERCEDES E-CLASS(E) 1999 on
MERCEDES E-CLASS(US) 2000 on
NISSAN ALMERA HATCH(E) 2000 on
NISSAN ALMERA TINO(LHD) 2000 on
PEUGEOT 206 SPORT 2001 on (not crash tested)
PEUGEOT 307 (LHD) 2001 on
PEUGEOT 406 (LHD) 2001 on
PONTIAC AZTEK(US) 2001 on
RENAULT CLIO 2001 on (not crash tested)
RENAULT LAGUNA(LHD) 2001 on
RENAULT SCENIC(LHD) 1997 on
SAAB 9-5(LHD) 1997 on
SAAB 9-5(US) 1999 to 2001
SAAB 9-5(US) 2002 on
TOYOTA CROWN(J) 1999 on
TOYOTA WINDOM(J) 2001 on
VOLVO S40(US) 2002 on
VOLVO S60 (LHD) 2000 on
VOLVO S60(US) 2001 on
VOLVO S70(E) 1998 on
VOLVO S80(E) 2000 on
VOLVO S80(US) 2000 on
Key: LHD-left habnd drive European Model, US- US model,
E-European
model (RHD), J-Japanese model.