Toyota Yaris Crash

[CTScott]

We have seen a lot of pictures like this over the past couple of years. The good news is that in each case the person has survived (which says a great deal about this little car). You didn't say what he hit head-on, but obviously is was something large enough to do significant damage.

I have only seen a couple where there was concern about the airbag not deploying. As for that, the sensors require a specific threshold to trigger, and considering where and how they are mounted, I can understand there being cases where significant damage occurs, without the airbags deploying.

As for your mention of Toyota's response to your inquiry: Any admission of questionable function would be a liability, so that is probably the reason for the pompous response. Did you file a report with the NHTSA (www.safecar.gov), as they would be the appropriate body to conduct an unbiased evaluation?

[yaris2010RS]

Originally Posted by CTScott

We have seen a lot of pictures like this over the past couple of years. The good news is that in each case the person has survived (which says a great deal about this little car). You didn't say what he hit head-on, but obviously is was something large enough to do significant damage.

I have only seen a couple where there was concern about the airbag not deploying. As for that, the sensors require a specific threshold to trigger, and considering where and how they are mounted, I can understand there being cases where significant damage occurs, without the airbags deploying.

+1, i couldnt have said it better.

air bags in some situations are better, in others they are worse. in early days of air bags many were killed due to lack of technology and they would always simply delpy under almost any impact. now they are so percise and will only deploy under certain conditions. the injuries andew suffered would not have been prevented/made worse by an airbag deployment.


if it was said the seat belt didnt lock or andrew flew out of the window and it WAS PROVEN he had his seatbelt on, then i could understand an official complaint but what info was given i dont see it as an issue.

my dad owned a stock pathfinder and one night a car made a left infront of him and he litterally ran the car over. the truck was a total loss, no air bags went off and my dad walked away (after the truck continued to hit 2 more cars)as for the accord that got ran over, air bags went off in accord and driver was seriously injured (accord was only doing about 20km/h and my dad was doing about 90km/h) accord was held at fault and my dad was thankful the airbags didnt deploy.

[mckulley1]

Yes, we reported it to the NHTSA.

The cracked ribs and compression fracture certainly could have been prevented or reduced with an air bag.

[Kal-El]

Originally Posted by mckulley1

Yes, we reported it to the NHTSA.

The cracked ribs and compression fracture certainly could have been prevented or reduced with an air bag.

That said, air bags have been shown to do their own damage, although less so to men.

Thank God he was wearing his seat belt. He would've landed into the following Tuesday if he wasn't. The cracked ribs are clearly the result of the seat belt force, but I'm not convinced that the airbag may have prevented that. Most of the seat belt pressure would still be there. At most, it provides just a bit more cushion to the chest. It mainly helps the head from snapping forward violently.

In any event, this particular crash should have resulted in deployment. Clearly, the entire front end collapsed and should have triggered the sensor.
Maybe there's the possibility of the sensor be crumpled in such a way that it gets disabled. Yes, ironic, but conceivable.