BMWBig6

When going over options to check on B8 order form, my dealer did not recommend the rear side airbags if we plan to transport infants or children in the back seat, but is that (old) misinformation, based on experiences with conventional style airbags before the industry moved toward "curtain" style airbags?

Do they usually have a manual defeat or disable switch?

Hokie_Audi

I recall them not being nearly as dangerous for small passengers due to the much lower forces...

BlueDog

The ones that can detect if someone is in the seat or not, child/adult, and deploy accordingly

Reggie

No defeat switch

antiSUV

Ended up doing a Medline search on this topic, and the data seem to be sparse but reassuring. The most recent article was this: Arbogast KB, Kallan MJ. THE EXPOSURE OF CHILDREN TO DEPLOYING SIDE AIR BAGS: AN INITIAL FIELD ASSESSMENT. Annu Proc Assoc Adv Automot Med. 2007 Oct;51:245-259.

Quoting directly from the abstract: "In the study sample, 27 children per 1000 children in crashes were exposed to a deployed side airbag. Over 75% of these children were seated in the rear seat and 83% were exposed to a head curtain SAB. 65% of those exposed were less than 9 years of age. Of those exposed, 10.6% sustained an AIS2+ injury; all injuries were of the AIS 2 level and limited to the head or upper extremity. This paper provides the first population-based estimates of the exposure of children to SABs. Initial experience suggests that the risk of injury is fairly low with only one in ten sustaining injury - none of which were serious or life threatening. 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 next to SABs."

Here are links to an education page from the Childrens' Hospital of Philadelphia <a href="http://www.chop.edu/consumer/jsp/division/generic.jsp?id=77979">here</a> and the American Academy of Pediatrics <a href="http://www.aap.org/family/airbag.htm">here</a> about this topic. CHOP has an active child trauma research program, and the authors of the above article are from there. (I'm not affiliated with them; am just another car-crazy doctor in a completely different specialty.)

You still have the full curtain airbags that provide head protection if you decline the rear side airbags. The safest place for a kid to ride is still in the center, away from the SAB inflation zone. However, airbags are still not a substitute for proper restraints. Hope this helps.

afretes

That's the very reason why it isn't standard, because it is not the best for car seats.

BMWBig6

"Side air bags improve safety for adults in side impact crashes, but children who are not properly restrained and are seated near a side air bag may be at risk for serious injury."

The first article goes further: "Kids traveling in age-appropriate, correctly installed child restraints will be out of the path of the airbag and at less risk of serious injury."

Neither say no risk, just "less risk." But at what point do the benefits outweigh the costs? The excerpted article from Medline says 10.6% sustained AIS2+ level injuries, but was there no analysis conducted of whether or not the airbags prevented more serious injuries (or better yet, saved their lives)?

Just trying to get my head around the topic. It's an inexpensive option on the B8, but I don't want to make a "costly" mistake that I will regret later.

Hal_TT::CBP

rear seat.

Auto manufacturers are required to have smart bags in the front passenger area. I do not think there are any mandates/requirements for the other passenger locations in a car/suv/truck.

There are no disable switches on curtains or rears that I've ever seen. I don't worry about the curtains, the rear seat/side based ones I'd avoid until your kids are at least in a booster-only seat.

antiSUV

As for this quote: "Kids traveling in age-appropriate, correctly installed child restraints will be out of the path of the airbag and at less risk of serious injury.", I believe it's a little misleading. I'm not a parent but have a niece and a nephew who ride in child seats, so they're both positioned outboard. Because the side bolsters come almost up to the door panel, I can't imagine there being any way the kids would be out of the way of a deploying side airbag. The only airbag they're out of the way of are the curtain head airbags.

The Medline citation seems to be the first one out there where they looked at side airbag safety in the community. Injuries that are AIS level 2 are not life-threatening, but these may be more a function of the effectiveness of the restraints rather than the airbag system. How do you parse out the two when the vast majority of kids in the study were already restrained? Bottom line, there's still not enough evidence to change the recommendations.

Would I let my little niece and nephew ride in a car with side airbags? Not until the evidence changes. One thing missing in all the reading I've done since yesterday (sorry, the OCD meds are wearing off), is a recommendation of WHEN it might be safer for kids to sit next to a side airbag. Height &gt; 4.5 ft? Age &gt; 8 or 10 or 12? I don't think anyone really knows. Just my $0.02.