I don'tsee why curtain airbags shouldn't be obstructed
I may or may not be correct, but I imagine that the airbag going off would fire at very high speed across the car whatever objects were in the way.
I would be EXTREMELY careful never to obstruct any airbags.
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True, but once the car's been hit with enough force to set the airbags off, aren't things going to be flying around regardless. Also, the force would be very much sideways rather than forwards, so although I accept there is a risk, wouldn't it apply mainly to rear passengers, of which there appear to be none?
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DHM:
To quote the original message, and not wishing to sound too much like the smart-ass I'm about to, :-)
"What's the recommended approach for loading an estate (Volvo V70) when you want to have the following configuration:
driver and two passengers - one in the front and one in the back"
I accept all of what you say in your post, but airbags go off with terrifying force, inflating in a few hundredths of a second I think. This is going to fire stuff across the car, at the rear passenger, at very high speed indeed.
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In that case, I agree. Lose the rear visibility because, airbag or none, there's going to be greatly increased danger if the vehicle is hit from the side with all those objects in the passenger compartment.
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Personally I load so as to lose visibility as a last resort on the basis that being able to see out of all the windows might help you to avoid whatever.
Heavy stuff low down and distributed sensibly. Everything below "window" height. Anything in the passenger compartment being soft stuff as far as possible. Strap down with cargo nets, straps, rope as much as possible if you have some really heavy stuff. Don't like putting heavy objects immediately behind and occupied seat either.
One of those cargo/doggy guard type wossnames doesnt do any harm either.
If stuff below window/head height wouldn't have thought airbags were too much of an issue.
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Lose the rear visibility because, airbag or none, there's going to be greatly increased danger if the vehicle is hit from the side with all those objects in the passenger compartment.
Eh? What do you mean by 'lose the rear visibility'? Do you mean pile it high in the rear, use the cargo net and keep it out the passenger compartment?
Where can I get long restraining straps? Longest I've seen is 3m which isn't long enough.
Also, is the V70 cargo net actually going to be strong enough to stop a flying suitcase for example?
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Also, is the V70 cargo net actually going to be strong enough to stop a flying suitcase for example?
I should have added : or should I look at getting the metal grille instead?
www.volvocarcampaigns.co.uk/accessories/popup.asp?...Y
many thanks
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This month's Readers Digest has an alarmist article about having a computer simulated accident in a Fiat Multipla. The simulated laptop, conveniently placed on top of a pile of luggage in the boot and in full view of any passing thief, was launched forward, over the back seat passengers and somehow managed to duck between the driver's headrest and his neck and kill him with "massive skull trauma". Yeah, right, everyone leaves their laptop sliding around on top of a suitcase. And, having been launched across the car at 50 mph, how does it manage to suddenly go into a dive just as it's passed the top of the driver's headrest.
Rubbish.
As long as the big objects are placed where they can't gain momentum, and small objects are well stowed, you should have no worries using a metal grille.
Darcy.
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"..where they can't gain momentum.."
Pedantic, I know, but nothing gains momentum in a crash, it just loses it at different rates. It helps to remember that normally everything in the car is travelling at the same speed, and only when this changes suddenly does the momentum of individual items become apparent.
FWIW, when packing estates, which I have done many times when ferrying children to/from university, the end result is more stable if the heavy stuff can be placed as far forward as possible. This also helps with the restraint, as it has less far to travel in the car.
The other thing you should do is take a Citroen, then the attitude of the car will be unaffected by the load...
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I stand (not gaining momentum) corrected.
Darcy.
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JBJ wrote;
The other thing you should do is take a Citroen, then the attitude of the car will be unaffected by the load...
Which will stop your headlights pointing skywards. The laws of physics however remain the same. Too much weight too far back and the rear end will get skittish.
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"Too much weight too far back and the rear end will get skittish"
Of course - I didn't mean to imply otherwise. However, the physics also kick in aerodynamically, and the maintenance of the horizontal in a Citroen estate does make them much better behaved at speed with a load. I had a humble GS for a few years, and it could hold 100mph fully laden with a mere 65bhp, whereas my later Peugeot estate, with 50% more power, could barely manage 90 with a similar load, although much faster unladen. The GS was much more stable under those circumstances, too, and I always felt (still do) that Citroen made far too little of this advantage - not to mention the fact that the floor was lowered for you when you switched off...
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Darcy,
As an Automotive Engineer involved with safety aspects of vehicle interiors I can assure you this IS NOT RUBBISH. In an accident something as small as a can of beans can become a killer projectile - if it hits someones arm it might just break it, but if it hits someones head they may be dead meat.
All luggage should be stowed safely and tied down either with straps or in nets. Cups and cans should be in the cup holders. In accidents at "only" 20mph decelerations of 30g can be experienced - so suddenly that 300gm can of beans is a 10kgm piece of concrete crashing into your head at 20mph.
Has anyone noticed how rear parcel shelves in saloons have become useless for stowing things on in recent years? This is one reason why.
The side aircurtain will not thrust objects across the car in this way, chances are the accident is already doing that for you. But anything that gets in the aircurtains way will prevent it from deploying properly and that might cost a life. So keep the area above waist level clear in the area of the curtain.
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Cyd
I don't dispute that loose items can become dangerous as they lose their momentum. My point was that I think it daft that anyone would contemplate setting out on a journey with their laptop loose on top of a suitcase in the back. In your experience, don't the headrests stop flying stuff? If they are strong enough to stop a head whiplashing, surely they could stop a can of beans? What on earth would a can of beans be doing flying around at head height anyway? Typically your can of beans would be in a corner-shop plastic bag next to the jar of coffee and 2 pint container of milk and newspaper. The plastic bag would be on the floor behind the driver, or on the empty front passenger seat.
Darcy.
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Darcy,
next time you are in the carpark, have a look at all the loose stuff people stow in their vehicles.
I did an \'inventory\' once after a long trip, and it was shocking what I, a supposedly sane man, left lying about [some of it I can\'t blame on the kiddies!]
Cassettes, cassette boxes, fag packets, empty tins, zippo lighter, books, shoes, fluffy toys etc.
in the event of a smash, many of these items would have rattled round inside the car, some with horrid results.
In the event of a sudden emergency stop/avoidance manouevre, some of the kit could easily end up shooting through under the seats, and getting jammed in the pedal box.
I\'m still amazed at the engineering types who carry their hard-hat on the rear parcel shelf - almost like a \'badge of office\'. This thing is designed to prevent hard objects hitting your head, but it is just the right solidness to become a hard object hitting you on the head from behind!
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