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Make it safe to have a RF child in the front seat!! (And other safety fantasies)

3K views 53 replies 29 participants last post by  Cinder 
#1 ·
Please? Cause that'd make life easier for lots of people.

'kay, thanks.
 
#6 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by an_aurora View Post
Dahlia, the law in Washington is backseat "when it is practical to do so." It's technically not illegal to have a kid in the front seat.
But, if you have a kid in the front and an empty back seat they can ticket you because it is "practical".
 
#9 ·
See, there's also the whole law thing. There should be like a little sign that pops up so concerned by standers and police officers can see that the airbag's been turned off.

But seriously, would it be safe to have her seat up front if I could turn off the airbags on that side?? I thought maybe U.S. carseats weren't designed for that or something?

Oh, wait, I'd have to use the locking clip since the front belt doesn't switch to a ratchet lock and there certainly aren't LATCH connectors up there. Honestly though, when baby #2 is in the "if I can't see Mommy she doesn't exist OMG Mommy is GONE!!!!" phase in the carseat, I would totally go back to dealing with the locking clip install.
 
#10 ·
The back seat is always safer for everyone.

Some state laws do not allow children in the front seat.

If there is absolutely no danger of airbag deployment (I would not trust sensors and don't know about switches) and the seat is properly installed, RFing in the front is not inherently unsafe.
 
#15 ·
Yeah, I hate carseats. But, I do it...

I fought and fought to install our radians in a friend's van today. FINALLY got it. I wish it didn't matter what my kids rode in, or how I attached them. I wish I could have a cavelier approach to the whole thing. You know, through the seat belt, buckle it and then buckle in the child. Done. But, I can't.

So, it's yank, twist, pull, mash fingers, wiggle, locking clip, mash fingers, push, wiggle, arg, mash fingers, lengthen seat belt, mash fingers, push, wiggle, CLIP, ahhh....wiggle, wiggle...arg...too loose...repeat. Mash fingers, scrape back of hand on carseat in next seating position.

And the clingy baby stage. It would be GREAT to have them where they could see me. But then I'd be wishing it was safe to nurse and drive...
 
#16 ·
We have a new car and it has a way to disable the air bag, as well as a weight sensor on the passenger side to trigger the airbag. It still mentions in the manual that it shold be used as a last resort only.
 
#18 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by leighi123 View Post
I sometimes have ds in the front in my dad's spyder, but thats only b/c its a 2 seater and has a key to turn off the airbag. It is VERY distracting to have him right next to me.
That's what I have, a spyder. It's only got a front seat, but it does have an airbag off switch. It's challenging to get my midwifery bags and a carseat in there, but the car's all paid for, so I'll be doing it, whenever the universe blesses me with a babe to do it with.
My friend did is for a long time with a Miata, so I know it's possible.
 
#19 ·
I don't know about now but 9 years ago my 2 sons were in their RF in the front seat. It was the normal place for them to be in a car in england. Made driving so much easier! I never had a near miss back then. I had so many near misses when my third was in a rf in the back (born in America) as his crying was so distracting to me.
 
#20 ·
Someone mentioned "backseat is always safer for everyone". This is not true at all although it's a common misconception. Airbags in US/Canada can't be turned off with key/switch, except some trucks, but this doesn't change the fast that front seat is as safe as the rear seat for children as long as airbag is deactivated. This has been proven by research and real life experience ages ago.

Back seat is of course safer for kids in vehicles with airbag which can't be deactivated

When we look closer at all the factors affecting safety for children the facts are that front seat is likely safer than the rear seat. There are several reasons for this, very briefly:

- Vehicles are safety optimized for front seat use since there is always someone in front seat.

- Panel in front of seat is the strongest point in the car

- Rear facing in front seat provide far better leg space for children. Many parents turn children way to early due to concern regarding leg space.

- Distractions with children in front seat have been proven to be less than back seat

- Using front seat leads to more flexible seating solutions for families. Children are basically more likely to sit properly secured in the car.

Research is one thing, how does the front seat work in real life? Unbelievably well! The Seedes, considered 30 years ahead in car seat safety, has been using front seat extensively since 1965 for children. A large percentage of Sweden use the front seat. This apply to families of all kinds of sizes.

Results are stunning, Sweden has basically eliminated fatalities for children in ages 0-6 years in traffic accidents. This is largely due to keeping kids rear facing until age 4 or longer but I just wanted to point out that despite a high percentage of use in front seat safety is amazing.
 
#22 ·
The front passenger belt does lock, if the car is newer than 1996.

And, the back seat is still safest.


Quote:
The front seat is a more dangerous environment than the rear seat for two reasons. First, recent crash data show that children 15 years and under have a 40% lower risk of serious injury in the back seat compared to the front seat (Durbin et al., 2005). This increased risk occurs because the front passenger compartment is more likely to have intrusion than the back seat area in frontal crashes, which are the most common type. Consequently, FMVSS 213 requires manufacturers to say in their instructions "that, according to crash statistics, children are safer when properly restrained in the rear seating positions than in the front seating positions."
More information found here.
 
#23 ·
The only problem I have with that study is that they didn't compare back and front seat results for kids in RF carseats and in reading the full text, they're also including injuries from air bags.

So really not a convincing argument against using a carseat in the front seat with a turned-off airbag.
 
#24 ·
The only reason we have airbags in the first place, is because people refused to use thier seat belts. I too would like to see a study done with NO airbags and proper seat belt usage. I'll bet there are a lot fewer serious injuries especially to the face (those air bags are violent).

I have been in a couple serious collissions without any airbags and was able to walk away with only a few brusies because I had my seat belt on. The first one, the front end of the car was smashed to 1/2 it's original size. Had my brother and I had shoulder harneses in the back seat, it would have been better. I got a bloody nose from hitting the front seat and my brother got a bump on his forhead. Front seat passangers had NO injuries, so back seat is not always safer.

I loved having my ds#1 in the front seat on our 45 min drive every morning. It would have been murder to have to put him in the back seat. Of course that was 15 years ago before passanger side air bags.
 
#25 ·
Wasn't there a controversial study that showed that car seat use was actually less of a factor for fatalities than simply placing children in the back seat? Not to say that car seats aren't important of course, though that was inferred by a lot of people (hence the controversial part). Does anyone know what I am talking about? Or maybe I am remembering it wrong, it has been a long day.
 
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