The owner's manual makes a big deal about not letting anything occupy the space that airbags would move through if they deployed, because the object would either interfere with deployment or become a projectile. And yet with the side airbag option the hand-holds above each door are left in place. Wouldn't an an arm dangling there get broken, lose fingers or smash into it's owner's face? Maybe Toyota oughta delete the hand-holds when side airbags are installed. This same question must have come up before about other cars...
There's a note in the manual that cautions against doing just that: keeping yor hand on the grip or allowing passengers to sleep with their heads against the doors. The grips are for ease in entry and exit; I don't think they were intended to be held on to during normal driving if the car has side air bags. Good question, though. I myself, keep wondering where they all are stored. If you look at the photo in the brochure, the entire side of the car is covered with deployed airbags. I think the bulge in the roof holds most of them, and there are a few that pop out of the outside edges of the front seats, which is why the leather seeking owners have had some problems getting seat covers.
Being an automotive engineer, I need to say a few things about your perception of curtain airbags. The inflation volume, speed and crash direction of instrument panel airbags is completely different from side curtain systems. Even though the deployment speeds are in the sub 30 millisecond range, side curtains are very gentle in comparison and overhead assist handles are generally very safe with side curtain airbags. One advantage with assist handles in deployments is that they help keep the headliner up in the vehicle, reducing the potential for intrusion injuries (injury from the headliner whacking you in the head). You should take a look at what the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has to say about side airbags (admittedly not side curtains). See item 13 in the link below: http://www.highwaysafety.org/safety_facts/...nda/airbags.htm We try to make these systems have the least impact on overall vehicle comfort, utility, etc. After all airbags are thankfully one of least used features in the vehicle. However it seems like we spend most of our time testing for the idiots who are unbelted, or let their 5 year old ride with their head out the window and want to sue the car manufacturer, suppliers and their mothers because they were hurt by the airbag. Is there the POTENTIAL for injury? Yes. Should you take responsibility for your own actions? Yes again. Are you safer with an curtain airbag? Yes yet again. Would someone else complain that there were no assist handles if we took them out? I'll let you answer that one.
I found another good source for info. from the NHTSA Side Airbag Out-of-Position Technical Working Group Public Meeting If you are into the gory details (pun intended). http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/n...IHS_TWGmtg.html
Attached is an illustration from the '04 Prius Emergency Response Guide, that provides some details. Also, for more airbag information links, take a look at this PriusChat thread. I had a lot of questions about airbags initially (my partner was also concerned), and I found that these links provided the information we were looking for.
