Crash safety of older Tacoma

A little background. I was seriously injured in a car on bicycle crash about two years ago. A 19yo girl on her phone plowed through a steady red light and t-boned me at 50mph. To this day I don't understand the physics of how I survived.

Fast forward to this past weekend. I came across a bad wreck and learned later than a young couple and their son were killed in an SUV on SUV t-bone crash. They were driving a newer Mazda CX-5. The idiot that hit them was driving an older Trailblazer. This happened in Garner, NC.

I know this is a grim subject, and I definitely have some PTSD. I keep asking myself how "safe" my 2007 Tacoma would be in a similar crash compared to my brother's GMC Sierra 2500HD, for example. I don't want or need a new truck, but damn, I just can't help but think I'd be safer in some big behemoth of a vehicle.

Sorry to sound all Debbie Downer. I just feel like I'm in a Mad Max movie every time I get on the interstate.

 

Tacomas are not unsafe, but they have gotten better. I don’t believe an 07 will have side airbags, for example

do you have a regular, access or quad cab?

 

Sorry for the trauma you experienced brother. Crash safety keeps getting better and better and there has been some pretty violent 3rd Gen crashes reported here where everyone walked away. Do what you gotta do and stay safe out there my friends.

 

Generally - the Tacoma is perfectly safe.

What you are asking involves many variables, like speed, body positioning, point of impact, objects in cab, secondary/tertiary collisions, etc.

No vehicle is safer than the behaviors that are driving it. Mainly the three golden rules:

• Put down the phone and turn down the radio. Pay attention.
• Always secure your cargo. Always strap it down. Don't make projectiles.
• Never demand the right-of-way. Always yield to idiots. You can either get out of their way or you can argue about how correct you were when you're both standing in line at the pearly gates.

^^^ Follow those three if you want to live. Statistically, those will increase your chances far, FAR better than the number of stars on your vehicle's crash rating.

 

yep i know that feeling very well

 

Access cab. I believe mine has the side seat airbags (and front, obviously), but no side curtain airbag.

 

I don't believe side airbags were available on Tacoma in 2007, so you likely don't have them. That means that this testing on a 05 should be directly comparable.

2005 Toyota Tacoma (iihs.org)

 

Crash physics & analysis is complex subject to be sure, and situations are highly variable in their dynamics & outcomes.

But yeah, other things being equal, the heavier the vehicle (in a 2-vehicle incident) the less it + occupants are going to feel crash forces.

That said, at least the 2nd gen Tacos have decent side-curtain impact air bags.

 

Curious as to what gave you the PTSD?
I was was in a nasty motorcycle wreck some time back. Lots of compound fractures, eight surgeries, a year in a chair and another year on crutches before I finally got back on my not so new feet. I hadn't heard of PTSD back then and have to wonder if I'd have suffered it, had I known it existed.

Again, just curious.

BTW, I did just take my wife out of her 4th gen lifted 4Runner and put her into a new 5th gen for the exact reason you're contemplating here.

 

Side air bags have been installed in Toyotas since 1998.

This from google: 1998 - Addition of passenger-side airbag. 1998 - Introduction of Tacoma PreRunner Xtracab. Tacoma Xtra Cab TRD wins "Pickup Truck of the Year," Four Wheeler. 1999 - Tacoma PreRunner adds Regular Cab to model line-up.

I know my '01 double cab had them.

 

My guess is nearly dying after being hit by a car going 50mph while riding a bicycle.

 

Are your guesses any good?
I fancy myself a good guesser and yet was hesitant to do so.. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Great question. I'm certainly no expert. Lots of folks experience far worse PTSD, but I think it's a real thing that can range from debilitating to manageable. Mostly my anxiety skyrockets when I'm on the road as a driver or passenger. I experience road rage when I witness really crazy/careless driving, even if it has nothing to do with me, and I'm generally not an angry person. It's a big difference than how I was before. As to the what, I think it has to do with the shock of being blindsided, not so much the fear of being injured again. I never saw her coming and have no memory of the wreck, and that's really f*cked with my head and the idea of control and mortality. It can be subtle for sure.

Sorry to hear about your wreck. The whole left side of my body was trashed (12 fractures from head to toe), plus a TBI. 3 surgeries, but I was back on my feet pretty quickly. Just happy to be alive!

 

It feels irrational to want to drive a behemoth to "protect" myself. I'm not a paranoid person. Or I wasn't before.

 

Thanks for the explanation.
I think I get it.

While my wreck didn't deter my two wheeled endeavors, I never felt comfortable on the interstate again, despite the fact the accident happened on a county road. "Never felt comfortable" puts it mildly, I actually never rode the interstate again. Didn't know what to attribute the fear to back then and still don't today.
Not everything effects everyone the same way, and all that..

Glad you made it through, and good luck with the new truck.

 

There are a bunch of collision threads here. The 3rd Gen seems to do amazingly well. Much safer than I expected it to be.

 

Keep yourself safe by driving defensively.


I have been in three major wrecks [concussion, shoulder surgery, spine surgery]
Add to that my dad was almost killed/had to be airlifted from a wreck/month in the ICU - he died several years later from complications from this wreck; I was 20..

After the last one, I was terrified I would be afraid to drive..
I hit a jeep @ 40mph that made a left right in front of me, crushed my car to the firewall, had my spine fused from this
I never had a chance to even react; I played that day over and over in my head - there was nothing I could have done differently to prevent it..
I was super angry at the person who caused the wreck but luckily I wasn't afraid to drive afterwords..

What @Rock Lobster said is correct: Never demand the right-of-way. Always yield to idiots. Pay attention.
So many people [without insurance] will completely wreck your shit if you let them; they don't care/won't care/won't be held responsible so you have to drive defensively all the time. Driving is literally the most dangerous thing we do and most people don't give it the respect/attention/skill it deserves.
I do everything I can to leave space/let asshats go/avoid another collision..

I also kinda accepted that, like my 3rd accident, shit is going to happen in life that you cannot control and sometimes that shit is 100% awful/ruins your life for awhile. IF I get hit again, I'll deal but I do not worry about it - I just drive in the manner I think keeps me the safest and I will happily move over or stop to let some idiot go - so I don't have to be involved in their crap...

The only thing I hate is being the passenger with someone who can't drive/can't put their phone down while driving - so I almost always drive myself or insist I drive..


I do not drive large vehicles - I have a 2011 BMW 128 and the Tacoma
Both are relatively safe..
I want an old Honda - if I get one, I will have some welding done to reinforce the frame since small light vehicles are more likely to be destroyed if hit by a larger/newer vehicle [think a Denali or something]

 

Yep, I get it 100%. "Never felt comfortable" really resonates with me. It was explained to me that acute stress is the stuff you experience right after, and the post traumatic stuff is what you're left with long term. You can't clinically be diagnosed with PTSD until 6 months after an event. I was never diagnosed, but I understand it enough to know that it's a real thing, if only a minor inconvenience for me in the grand scheme of things.

Am I getting a new truck??? Haha. Maybe, we'll see. I love my Taco.

 

Amen. Same.

 

Let me explain some crash data and physics and stuff for you.

1. Mass (m) is king, meaning, if two vehicles hit head on and one weighs 7K and the other weighs 3.5K, the 7K vehicle will transfer much more energy to the 3.5K car, meaning the people in the 3.5K have a higher likelihood of getting hurt. Physics.

2. Speed (v) plays a crucial role in crashes. However, it is a rare occurrence where a vehicle hits something full on without scrubbing some velocity by hitting something else.

3. Angles and impact points also play a crucial role here. This is the "luck" constant of the equation. In my example above, the people in the 7K vehicle could actually be hurt worse in an accident with the 3.5K vehicle if they have bad luck with the angles and impact. But statistically, the 7K vehicle is safer.

Lastly, all the above is a moot point above 40 mph. Why? Because the deceleration of the human body is too great at speeds above 40 mph, meaning you will probably die.
Now I know you all are going to say "Well, I was in an accident at 60 mph and I lived!" Sure, but you did not hit a concrete wall head on at 60 mph. There is no walking away from that one.

So, the 3rd gen Tacoma weighs in at around 4600 lbs. My New Tundra weighs in at 5800 lbs. I will only win if we crash into each other head on in two conditions: A) We are going at the same speed or B) I am going faster.

Personal opinion:
Crash testes done by the Insurance Institute or by NSTA are rigged. Why? They crash test a vehicle that cannot transfer more energy back into the vehicle they are testing. For example they test a Ford Maverick truck into either a concrete barrier (can only resist the energy transferred) or in side impact, the vehicle hitting the Maverick weighs the same as the Maverick.
That is absolutely not real world. Real world is full size pickups as being the median weight. If you drive something smaller, chances are you are going to get hurt worse. For full size pickups, you will get hurt less getting hit by a Kia or more getting hit by an 18 wheeler. That is fact. The scam is they want you to drive small vehicles for fuel efficiency, not safety. Use common sense.