[okieslk]

This is most likely an absurd question, but has anyone tried to just order the Babysmart modules? Corollary, do all Britax models have the mounting points for the modules?
I have read the previous posts on this topic and it appears the MB Babysmart seats are not the best option, but I would hate to buy one just to retrieve the modules. BTW, why can't you find any information (price, selection, etc.) on M-B's website, or Britax, anywhere. I have a 1 hr drive to the nearest dealer, some online pics would be nice.

 

[cmorosco]

If you plan to take your infant in the car a lot I'd recommend having the dealer disconnect the airback on the passenger side. I don't trust the automatic sensor. Just my personal opinion. Airbags can be more destructive than helpful in many cases as they come out with extreme force when deployed.

I speak from personal experience on this one. I was in a serious head on colision and the airbag actually casued the majority of the injuries. An no, it wouldn't have been worse without them, trust me it was pretty bad. The airbag deployed in the passengers face. She was leaning forward at the time.

 

[mrfu]

cmorosco - 1/27/2005 4:52 PM

If you plan to take your infant in the car a lot I'd recommend having the dealer disconnect the airback on the passenger side. I don't trust the automatic sensor. Just my personal opinion. Airbags can be more destructive than helpful in many cases as they come out with extreme force when deployed.

I speak from personal experience on this one. I was in a serious head on colision and the airbag actually casued the majority of the injuries. An no, it wouldn't have been worse without them, trust me it was pretty bad. The airbag deployed in the passengers face. She was leaning forward at the time.

If you read the manual for the airbag it says the passanger should not be leaning forward. Otherwise it can cause more damage. Well basically they warned you about it.

 

[Kirill]

mrfu - 1/27/2005 11:05 AM

If you read the manual for the airbag it says the passanger should not be leaning forward. Otherwise it can cause more damage. Well basically they warned you about it.

I am second that, people don't know how to seat in a car. I always scream at girls who put their hands on airbag when i have to brake suddenly. Cause in case if it have to deploy it wouldn't be pretty.

If you look around you'll see women driving with her face 2 inches from the airbag - they can hold a steering wheel with their mouth !

 

[okieslk]

mrfu - 1/27/2005 11:05 AM

If you read the manual for the airbag it says the passanger should not be leaning forward. Otherwise it can cause more damage. Well basically they warned you about it.

mrfu - Have a heart man[]

 

[mrfu]

okieslk - 1/27/2005 5:14 PM

mrfu - 1/27/2005 11:05 AM

If you read the manual for the airbag it says the passanger should not be leaning forward. Otherwise it can cause more damage. Well basically they warned you about it.

mrfu - Have a heart man[]

Trust me i have a heart. I'm just being honest and realistic. It sounds messed up but if your told something and it happens, who can you blame? I do feel sorry for him and his passenger though.

 

[cmorosco]

If you read the manual for the airbag it says the passanger should not be leaning forward. Otherwise it can cause more damage. Well basically they warned you about it.

Wow, that's pretty cold.

She was leaning forward because I locked up the brakes. It pushed her forward and when the person hit us the airbag deployed. This was in a brand new Honda so we didn't have pretensioning seatbelts to keep her in her seat. I also beleive the design of the Honda passenger airbag was an issue because it is huge and goes all the way down the dash. The way it deploys causes it to come out pretty far. I don't blame her and that accident was the main reason I'll never drive anything other than a solid german car again. The whole accident happened in a fraction of a second. I don't think she or anyone else had time to think about the position of the air bags or anything like that. The thinking was more like I'm about to die.

It really doesn't matter though because this thread isn't about my accident but is about the child airbag sensor. I still say diable it if the kid will be in it a lot. Otherwise I would leave it as is. Anyone else agree or disagree?

 

[mrfu]

Alright that makes sense. From your original post you didn't say you locked up the brakes. Making it sound like she was leaning forward for someother pointless reason (which many people do). Thus my reponse was justified. Now with more information on the event my view has changed. I see what your saying now.

 

[Daniel]

cmorosco - 1/27/2005 10:52 AM

If you plan to take your infant in the car a lot I'd recommend having the dealer disconnect the airback on the passenger side. I don't trust the automatic sensor. Just my personal opinion. Airbags can be more destructive than helpful in many cases as they come out with extreme force when deployed.

I speak from personal experience on this one. I was in a serious head on colision and the airbag actually casued the majority of the injuries. An no, it wouldn't have been worse without them, trust me it was pretty bad. The airbag deployed in the passengers face. She was leaning forward at the time.

I don't know how you can say it would have been better if she hit the dash during a "serious head on colision" than an airbag. If she was leaning forward when you braked hard, then the inertia seatbelt wasn't working properly, if she was wearing one. If not, sorry, but you make your mistakes and you learn from them. Yes, this is a hard line approach, but what do you do if people just don't want to listen. The MB system will tell you in no uncertain terms whether the passenger airbag is switched off when you have the Babysmart system installed, via the indicator on the dash. This is *way* better than a switch that you must remember to switch on or off depending on who rides there, or disabling the system completely.

 

[Daniel]

okieslk - 1/27/2005 10:44 AM

This is most likely an absurd question, but has anyone tried to just order the Babysmart modules? Corollary, do all Britax models have the mounting points for the modules?
I have read the previous posts on this topic and it appears the MB Babysmart seats are not the best option, but I would hate to buy one just to retrieve the modules. BTW, why can't you find any information (price, selection, etc.) on M-B's website, or Britax, anywhere. I have a 1 hr drive to the nearest dealer, some online pics would be nice.

Have you seen my thread about this from waaaay back? http://www.benzworld.org/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=140355&posts=2&hl=babysmart

I seriously doubt that you can order the modules separately - I suspect that they are supplied by Britax and not MB. And supplying those would be a serious safety concern of you misuse them. I would wager that MB will simply replace your babyseat if there was a problem.

As to whether all Britax seats come with the mounting points - I can only speak for the one (non-babysmart) seat we bought, which did come with the mounting points. As a matter of fact, we still very occasionally use the seat in our Coupe, with no problems.

 

[DEATHERAGE]

I had an aibag go off when a large piece of rock fell off a truck in front of me and he car in front of me dodged it but I had cars on both sides it hit my tire went up and blew my front fender off and set my airbag off knocked me out and I rolled my truck at 60mph on the 51 freeway no one else was hurt but if that airbag wouldnt of knocked me ou I know I would of been able to keep my truck in check.

Airbags are good and bad I think the reports show more good than bad howeverwih a child dont take a chance and have it disabled.

However you do run risk of liability in your car for normal passangers. Who is going to be in your car more?. The kid or a normal adault.

You do the math BUT THAT AIRbaG WILL TEaR your kid appart. I am a very strong advocate of turning them off if not needed.

I also had bad burns all over my face and arms from the bag exaust. They go off using jet fule.

--Deatherage

 

[cmorosco]

I don't know how you can say it would have been better if she hit the dash during a "serious head on colision" than an airbag. If she was leaning forward when you braked hard, then the inertia seatbelt wasn't working properly, if she was wearing one. If not, sorry, but you make your mistakes and you learn from them. Yes, this is a hard line approach, but what do you do if people just don't want to listen.

I was hoping this discussion was over since the thread is not about me but the baby smart module.

Just for clarification. She was wearing a seat belt, we always do. Her body went forward but mostly her head. There was some slack in the seat belt so the belt locked but it did not keep her in her seat. The car did not have pretensioning seatbelts so it did not pull her back. Like I said the airbag came out really far. I don't recall saying it would have been better if her face hit the dashboard but it may have been. It's been 5 years since the accident and she still has to go to the doctor a lot after a rediculous amount of surgeries. All of the injuries came from the shear force of the airbag deploying.

I have to say it amazes me that anyones responce would be "well, that's what you get". I haven't even mentioned how old she is. What if she was 12 and leaned forward at just the wrong moment? What if it was your sister, wife, girlfriend, mother? She deserves to be blind in one eye with facial scars because she leaned a little too far forward at the wrong time? It's not like she put a loaded gun to her head and pulled the trigger.

I'm not saying she's 12 and I'm not saying she leaned forward. I'm just a little shocked that would be anyones reaction when someone gets seriously injured.

 

[DEATHERAGE]

I dont think he ment that in a mean way man. We all on the boards have our oppinions on things some harsh some not but these guys for the most part are really good guys. I think there was a misunderstanding. I dont see anyone in this forums wishing harm or laughing at others pain. When I got hurt bad they were all nice to me....

Hang in there and come to phoenix sometime so we can have a beer


Cheers

Deatherage

 

[cmorosco]

Deathrage,

Thanks. I'm sorry to hear about your accident as well. I'm glad to hear everyone was alright. I usually dislike forums but have been really impressed with this one mainly because of the people that are on it. Lots of great information but there also seems to be lots of great people.

I think I made a mistake in posting that little detail about my accident. A little too personal to post on a car forum. The reason I didn't give any detail in the first post was I was only trying to use it as an example on how dangerous airbags can be. Just as you did with your story. I really wasn't looking for a debate on if someone should or shouldn't have deserved to get hurt.

So I appologize to everyone for posting that bit of information. No hard fealings on my end. Let's stick to the topic of the post and leave the discussion about the accident.

come to phoenix sometime so we can have a beer

Next time I'm in Phoenix I'll definetly take you up on that beer. []

Thanks

 

[Daniel]

cmorosco - 1/29/2005 9:19 PM
I was hoping this discussion was over since the thread is not about me but the baby smart module.

<snip>

I'm not saying she's 12 and I'm not saying she leaned forward. I'm just a little shocked that would be anyones reaction when someone gets seriously injured.

You changed the thread from discussion about the sensors to the merits of airbags - I responded to that.

Sorry to hear about the injuries. My reaction had nothing to do with someone getting injured in an accident, but is more of a knee-jerk reaction to the "airbags are bad" implication in the post. I believe airbags to be a great passive safety system, if used correctly, and they save many lives. I also believe that MB's Babysmart system is a very good way of allowing smaller passengers to drive safely in the front seat. However, airbags, just like most other technology, need to be respected. For example, I don't allow my wife to carry stuff on her lap while riding as passenger even for short distances (say containers of food or other such stuff), we keep our seats back from the dash, don't lean forward, etc. How many times have I seen passengers on the highway riding with their feet up and out the window or on the dash. What do they think is going to happen to them if the airbag explodes in an accident? Think before you act, and take responsibility for your actions.

Even so, as your post indicates, people may get injured even if they do everything right. And that is unfortunately a sad fact of life. I used to work with a guy who won't wear seatbelts, because he believed "seatbelts killed", as he wanted to get out of the car quickly if he had to. Enough said.

 

[cmorosco]

You changed the thread from discussion about the sensors to the merits of airbags - I responded to that.

I think this is one big misunderstanding after another. My post was not about the merits of airbags but more about how they can be very dangerous in certain situations such as with child seats. Not everyone realizes that the child will most likely be killed by the airbag if they are in the front seat.

but is more of a knee-jerk reaction to the "airbags are bad" implication in the post.

Just for clarification, I never said airbags are bad. I think they are an extremly important life saving device. I was simply stating they can be very deadly in certain situations such as with a child seat. I think we all agree with this and this was my point not wether or not they were important or wether someone did or didn't deserve to be injured.

So I think we all agree they are great in most cases and dangerous in others.

 

[okieslk]

Daniel,
Your post is what inspired me to solicit more info. I am trying to get info on the MB convertible seat, but am more interested in a rear-facing like you fabricated. Did the Britax Roundabout fit in your trunk?
Thanks for the information, this forum has been an incredible resource for me.

 

[eerola]

Air bags are a great invention. I am sure they have saved more lives than they have killed people. Because of this, it is sad to read the "serious injury or death" disclamer in the car.

I am sure the disclamer is there simply because of lawyers. Any parent who loves his/ her baby will do his best to make sure the seat is properly positioned and air bags are not active.

Of course, things can happen. And even if the air bag cables would be physically disconnected, a spark can happen and ignite the system when you crash. But at least you did your best: Your baby was sitting in one of the best seats in the industry. Your car was one of the safest available. You had noticed that the air bag deactivation light was on/ you had turned the air bag switch to off position. You drove carefully noticing that you have a VIP passenger.

A happier comment to this thread: My 8 days old son loves his baby smart seat and thinks cruising top down is great fun.

(Thanks to the mom for borrowing us her SLK [] )

 

[Daniel]

okieslk - 1/31/2005 10:32 AM

Daniel,
Your post is what inspired me to solicit more info. I am trying to get info on the MB convertible seat, but am more interested in a rear-facing like you fabricated. Did the Britax Roundabout fit in your trunk?
Thanks for the information, this forum has been an incredible resource for me.

The Roundabout does fit in the trunk, but not with the top down, unfortunately. Since we have sold the SLK, I have not been keeping up with what baby seats are available from MB. I know the seats were always in short supply, and we had to provide the VIN of our SLK just to order the intermediate (forward facing) seat, as the 2-seater owners had precedence in ordering baby seats. We didn't buy it, as it couldn't be used rear facing.

Even when my wife was pregnant with our (now) 2.5 year old son, MB was promising a convertible seat, but as far as I know, it has not been released yet. Of course, their infant seat is rear facing, as you can also see in the pic posted of an installed infant seat above. We used our infant seat for around 8-10 months, until our son outgrew the weight limit on the infant seat.

I have a lot of special memories of driving around top down in the SLK with my son...

 

[okieslk]

Update on Babysmart

I have had a huge success with my Babysmart experimentation. I got a used booster seat from Ebay, removed the sensors and mounted them (upside-down) on a base for a Graco Metrolite car seat. The Mercedes seat had the sensors 5.5 inches apart and I was only able to get 3.5 on this base yet it still works. In fact I had to lift the base about a foot before the airbags turned back on (~ 5 second delay before they turn off or on)