Safety of Older Vehicles

[Psycho71]

My 3yrs old loves to ride in my '85 K20 burb. Her booster seat is in the back passenger seat, statistically the safest seat in a vehicle. In just about any situation except possibly a rollover I think she is safer in my burb than almost any new vehicle. And like stated above, she loves it because she can see out of it. If anyone runs into it they are in serious doodoo since mine is lifted.

[Isaac3384]

The newer volvos really aren't that bad lookin of cars...I've seen alot worse. Subarus are supposed to be safe, plus you get the awesome AWD setup, and your 'man card' wouldn't take a hit (unless you get the Baja...then we might quesion your sexuality...lol). Even the Subaru Outbacks are respectable. My boss bought one a year or so ago and loves it. No problems, good fuel milage, and plenty of room. No complaints about a lack of power, either. It may be worth looking into.

[bigchevyc30]

agreed about not getting a smart car i dont know how it got that good of a safety rating but by what i have seen for impact tests the car goes poof when hit

[Lt.Del]

Also look at you state laws here in wv it is illegal to put kids under 50lb/4years old in the front seat or in a standard cab pickup  >.< my brother got a ticket for that and child sevices came to his house!

i find that hard to believe to have a blanket rule like that.  Especially in WV where so many have pickups.  Yes, that may be true for air bag vehicles, but it doesnt matter one bit if it is a pre-air bag vehicle. As I posted, people seem to forget why the front seat is dangerous to car seats--it's because of air bags and if your car doesn't have an air bag....well....

[78 Chevyrado]

Never heard of a particular type of vehicle being illegal for a particular type of child.  Sounds like WV is where the ruskies landed first.  Sue WV, if you dont win in a state court its 95.345% guaranteed you will win when it reaches a federal court.

If they threatened taking my kid away because she rode in an old delapidated pickemup truck like mine, you can bet id make it to at least national news with the stink id stir up. 

You are required to wear seatbelts...  if the car came with them factory equipped.  otherwise, you're exempt.  your brother got shafted and shouldnt take that crap.

[Isaac3384]

agreed about not getting a smart car i dont know how it got that good of a safety rating but by what i have seen for impact tests the car goes poof when hit

The outer skin goes poof, but they have some super high strength 'roll cage'- type skeleton that makes the car safe. I, personally don't trust it, and initially said it as a joke, but, in all seriousness, you can't argue with crash tests.

[78 Chevyrado]

Best Old vs New comparison I've seen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joMK1WZjP7g

[Isaac3384]

Good find...it's a shame they ruined such a nice car, though...lol

[bladerunner]

I've seen the Malibu vs Bel Air video quite a bit. It is a shame to ruin that car, but I get the point.  In all fairness though, the Bel Air has no seat belts, no collapsible steering column, no head rests, no crumple zones, no nothing. It is pretty bare bones. Anything made in the 80s is still better, though not great.

[Lt.Del]

after viewing a few of those crash test videos, this vid pops up...best burnout...wow!!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unwujSVpZwA&feature=related

[bladerunner]

after viewing a few of those crash test videos, this vid pops up...best burnout...wow!!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unwujSVpZwA&feature=related

Speaking of safety!

Not a bad way to spend $300 I guess.

[Stewart G Griffin]

i drive nothing but older vehicles (see my thread "If you think honda and toyota are king......") and i generally don't feel un-safe compared to the newer offerings.   (Well, ok i do, but this is due mostly to size not age)

i don't know---i guess if you did alot of 2-lane driving and/or at night then maybe you would want to go newer?

I should point out that I am not thinking of getting rid of the truck. That said, no I don't drive much at night (not in the truck anyway) though 2 lane driving I do. Most of the roads are such as it is fairly rural here, though multi-lane highways would worry me more personally.

In a lot of ways, I have to drive much more conscious of the road as I know I don't have ABS, traction control, etc. to help me out. This is a fact of life in an older ride. So I brake more often and sooner. I don't drive erratically. That should make it safer. It is other yahoos you worry about.  So for myself, I will probably get a safe car or wagon for driving the kid and keep the truck for fun and hauling.

All that said, I am thinking of replacing the bench seat with something more modern (read as having headrests). A fender-bender resulting in me whacking my head on the rear glass is disquieting.

i was just thinking about this as well.   i brought this up in another thread but i think it warrants another review:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGVt14jSyUw

i'm thinking of putting 3/4 plywood and lots of foam for cushioning back there.  It won't be perfect but it's better than nothing.

b) So there are no side door beams?

2) There is a video of a frontal crash test of a suburban with the camera INSIDE.   i have seen it---it's very graphic.  i am currently looking for it.

[Stewart G Griffin]

The other thing i want to bring up is are there such things as rear-facing child seats?  Sounds like a good idea.

[Lt.Del]

rear facing child seats are the law in VA if your kid is under 1 yr old.

[bake74]

     Wow, this was a hot topic.  I would like to make a couple of points.  It is true that newer vehicles have more safety devices, which they should.  But if one of our trucks and say a Volvo get in a head on crash ( depending on speed ), the truck is going to crush or run over the Volvo due to shear mass ( the same could be said of one of our trucks and a semi).  Now the occupants inside is a different story. ( as long as it is not too fast the people in the Volvo will be more protected )
     All I can say if from experience.  When I was 15, my sister was driving our old 66 Chevy to school, hit black ice and ran off the road.  Now that doesn't sound bad, except where we went off was a 20 to 25 foot drop, we went straight into a telephone pole 20-25 feet in the air, split the pole and then proceeded to slide down the pole with the top cracked section coming down with us.
     To make a long story short, if we were in a newer car, I do not think I would be here to tell the story.  I live in Cal. and drive with some of the rude-is people on the road.  I am always observant of everything around me and an escape route if needed.  I do not leave my families or myself safety up to "others".  There are times when you just can not avoid "others", but I like to believe that I am in control when I drive, not the other way around.