Should I change my 124s for w210 on safety grounds

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Thanks for all the comments guys,
Having looked at this logicaly (I think) the way forward is for me to make the 124 as safe as possible by fitting rear headrests and perhaps a pass air bag, other wise I will be forever chasing the "safest" car

Of course I may change my mind when I see how much it will cost!

Phil

i think you could fit a passenger bag into the car, with replacement of a few bits and bobs. However, is it worth it? you cant put the kids in the car with a pass bag.

i am in the process of replacing the pass. bag in mine with the glovebox so i can put the kids in the front. (sorry before anyone asks, no the bag wont be for sale as i may put it back in at some point)

if you must have a top-notch safe car then all you can do is trade the W124 for something else. The W124 is never going to be as safe as a new Mondeo or similar..... But to improve safety you'll ahve to spend A LOT more than what the W124 is worth to gain any major safety advancements as the W124 is a lot safer than most of the similar aged/priced vehicles.
 
According to MB the belt and the bag are designed to work together. Belt is a very narrow restraint. Bag gives a big wide area to restrain you. Question to ask is: If you jumped off a building would you rather land on a bag or a strap. The strap does not restain the head at all (hence whiplash etc); the bag does.

OK an airbag might slightly reduce the bruising you'd get from the seatbelt doing its job, but is that a safety feature? Racing drivers don't have airbags yet they walk away after huge decelerations (much more than you'd get in a typical road accident).

AFAIK whiplash is caused by rear impact (sudden forward movement of the body making the head snap backwards). Hence the need to have a properly adjusted headrest.
 
OK an airbag might slightly reduce the bruising you'd get from the seatbelt doing its job, but is that a safety feature? Racing drivers don't have airbags yet they walk away after huge decelerations (much more than you'd get in a typical road accident).

AFAIK whiplash is caused by rear impact (sudden forward movement of the body making the head snap backwards). Hence the need to have a properly adjusted headrest.

Raing drivers wear a full harness, which helps.

Whiplash is as you say but the belt does not stop the head flying forwards a lot and then lashing back like a whip. The films I have seen show the bag greatly reducing the forward motion and cushioning it so the lash back is much reduced too. If you are lucky the bag will catch the head like a cricketer catches a ball and there will be little or no bounce back. I think that is why MB stress the importance of using both.
 
NCAP showed up some really bad designs, such as the Vauxhall/Opel Zafira that allegedly failed badly, getting no NCAP stars.

:eek:
 
Take a look at the film of the frontal collision in a Fiat Panda to see what can happen to a front belted passenger in the way of whiplash without an airbag.

Whiplash is where the head moves backwards sharply, relative to the body (bending the neck back) - no sign of that on the video at all.

What was interesting was the amount of 'give' in the passenger's seatbelt ... looked like the belt pre-tensioner didn't work.
 
Whiplash is as you say but the belt does not stop the head flying forwards a lot and then lashing back like a whip.

As mentioned, if you look at the Panda video there's no evidence of that. The whole upper body swings forward and then back.

In a rear impact the body is accelerated forwards (by the seat back). The head isn't, so the neck is bent backwards ... until the head (hopefully) meets the head restraint.
 
Volvo and Saab do not have one case of whiplash recorded for their cars since 1996,, that year could be never, and none recorded
 
I agree whiplash is a vague term and means different things to different people. I prefer to think of it as any "flail" effect where the head is accelerated violently backwards or forwards and brought to a sharp halt by the limits of neck extension and then "rebounding" in the opposite direction. My guess and its only a guess on the seatbelt "give" was due to load limiting rather than the failure of initial seatbelt tensioning.
 
Volvo and Saab do not have one case of whiplash recorded for their cars since 1996,, that year could be never, and none recorded
Agreed.
Obviously Swedish marketing b*llsh*t, eh? Even if every passsenger wears a Formula 1 head restrainer and installs cushioned sidebars to reduce neck movements under high G forces, a violent accident is going to throw the passengers' heads every which way and wrench their necks about.

I still have whiplash injuries from being struck obliquely a year ago while stationary at traffic lights, causing the car unexpectedly to spin around its own axis. That was a case where no head restraint could work, even one labelled Made in Sweden. Stuff happens!
 
How about a 202?

C250TD????
 
With regard to the headrests, Id try to get the rear shelf and the head rest locking mechanisms from a breaker. As long as you dont intend to fold them, you dont need to worry about electrical connectors etc.

Hope this helps.

This is what I now intend to do, just need to find parcel shelf and headrests in the correct colour.

Phil
 
Hi all,

The problems is safety, my wife travels about 500 miles per week with our 2 children and is worried after her friend and child both got injured in a crash.

Phil

Sorry to return to your original post but that is a lot of miles (25,000 per year!) and a lot of risk for her and the children. It is at least double normal average mileage and double the risk. I would, on those grounds alone, go for the most modern and safe car you can afford.

If you do loads of mods on the 124 it cannot equal the newer standards.
 
Passenger airbag is fairly pointless if the person in the front is wearing a seatbelt.
Oh no its not, if the car I crashed in 15 years ago had had an air bag then I wouldn't have a scar where the windscreen was driven into my face. The seat belt stopped me going through the windscreen,but only an air bag would have protected my face.
 
Only just seen this post, but found it extremely interesting.

If my wife was travelling that amount of mileage I would do all within my power to encourage her to take an advanced driving course. Not to encourage her to drive faster, but to help her be more situationally aware. To read the road better, to improve the forward observation and of course anticipation. We cannot put a price on our loved ones and hindsight can tear us apart.

124 or 210?

Definitely the 210

Even early models will have greater safety designs, innovations etc and we are talking more than sticking a head restraint onto a seat or shelf.

Doors will be better reinforced, designed and will be able to withstand side impacts much better.

Hopefully steering column, engines, transmission etc will move, or crumble in a designed and researched manner.

We had a year 2000 W210 and a Renault drove straight into the nearside of it. The Renault was an insurance write-off and needed a full lift onto a flatbed to be removed. Our E-class needed a new skin for both nearside doors which could still open and close!! Yes this was a face-lift model, but if that encourages you to pay a little extra :) :) Then it is a small cost.

The only concern I have is that rumour has it the 210 has a problem with corrosion!:devil:

regards
John
 
Only just seen this post, but found it extremely interesting.

Even early models will have greater safety designs, innovations etc and we are talking more than sticking a head restraint onto a seat or shelf.

Doors will be better reinforced, designed and will be able to withstand side impacts much better.

Hopefully steering column, engines, transmission etc will move, or crumble in a designed and researched manner.

We had a year 2000 W210 and a Renault drove straight into the nearside of it. The Renault was an insurance write-off and needed a full lift onto a flatbed to be removed. Our E-class needed a new skin for both nearside doors which could still open and close!! Yes this was a face-lift model, but if that encourages you to pay a little extra :) :) Then it is a small cost.

The only concern I have is that rumour has it the 210 has a problem with corrosion!:devil:

regards
John

This echoes my opinion. Having watched the NCAP videos for a W204 and a W202 there have been huge advances. yes a W124 will be built well and last longer than life itself, but in a crash situation a more modern car will outperform it.
 
If safety is the main issue, then any prospective W210 would have to be carefully checked for rusty spring perches and cross-member, ie primary safety is the most important thing, so as you don't have to test out how effective the superior secondary safety of the W210 is.
 

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