[AnnieA]

A while back, I posted a thread because I was looking for an article that I had found once with the recommendation that children not ride in the front seat until the age of 15 but I couldn't find it. Well I finally found it this afternoon and I wanted to share it with you all!

"Effects of Child Age and Body Size on Serious Injury From Passenger Air Bag Presence in Motor Vehicle Crashes"

 

[LavenderMae]

Thank you for posting this! My dd will be 12 in March and so I had been thinking about the 12 and up being okay in the front seat thing. I wasn't going to let her on instinct but now I have somethign to back that up with.

 

[Tilia]

That is crazy. In Iowa, a 14-year-old can get their permit to learn how to drive. But it is not safe for them to sit in the front seat due to airbags?

 

[wende]

I made each of my kids wait until they were 13 before sitting in the front seat. My 16 year old is 5'11" tall and 150lbs now. She wasn't much smaller at 13. My 13 year old is 5'6" tall and weighs 105lbs, which is more than I weighed after giving birth to her.

I understand the argument about bones being more fragile at that age and what not, but they are certainly stronger at 13 than my great-grandmothers are at 90 and I can't imagine anyone telling her that she needs to sit in the back seat, lol.

 

[bobandjess99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tilia That is crazy. In Iowa, a 14-year-old can get their permit to learn how to drive. But it is not safe for them to sit in the front seat due to airbags?

Well..technically, it isn't all that safe for ANYone to ride in a car, ever.
but the point is that the front seat is more dangerous than the back.
Period. Regardless of your size. But for smaller, "less than adult sized" people, the danger is even higher.

It all becomes a sliding scale of risk........everyone has to make their own personal cutoff for how much risk is acceptable to them. and the states have made laws as to what the minimum amount of precaution is you are allowed to take.
Many people choose to take more than the legally required amount of safety precautions.
Personally...when you have a 4 seater car, and 1 adult and 3 kids...and your life is set up around HAVING to drive places....one kid has to sit in the front, period.
if you have the luxury of having enough rear seating positions for your children, GREAT! In fact, it would be best to make adult passengers sit in the back too, if there is room!!

 

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

OMG...I think there are better things people should spend money on to research than 13-14 y/o sittng in the front seat. In Mexico people sit in the back of pick up trucks because they have no car and the bus doesnt come to there town nor do cabs...so to get out to the market they have to take what's offered. Really if we ponder on the what if's we leave no time for life and all that it has to offer.

 

[Phoenix~Mama]

I am trying to understand all these new laws... I was done growing at age 13... I have been the same height since 8th grade. I have gained some extra cushion in my early 20's, but was definitely the same size at 12 as I was when I was 17 and started to drive.

 

[Twinklefae]

I get how it may be safer at 13-14 to still be sitting in the back. But I think the kids who do sit up front will be safer at 16 when they start to drive. Sitting in the front gives you a much better idea of how to drive a car, encourages you to notice what the driver is doing, etc. I think it's important if you are going to let your child drive at some point to let them see how it works before hand.

 

[AnnieA]

Based on the study, the height and weight of a child did not make a difference in whether or not they were seriously injured. What made the difference was the age. Skeletal changes during puberty totally makes sense to me. I am watching my DSS 13 and DSD 11 grow before my eyes. They are taller than me now but they are NOT going in the front seat of any vehicle that we drive until they turn 15. It's just not worth it to us.

With regard to the argument that children should observe a driver before they are allowed to drive, in my state they have to take classroom driver's ed and then in-car driver's ed to prepare them to be able to drive. I think that is much more effective than watching me or DH drive. Most of the time when we are in the car, DSS 13 is playing his DS or listening to his ipod and totally not paying attention to what we are doing up front.

The bottom line is each family needs to make their own decisions. This article was helpful for DH and I to make the decision that we feel is best for our kids and I thought I would share.

 

[vbactivist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mamato3wild ponnie OMG...I think there are better things people should spend money on to research than 13-14 y/o sittng in the front seat. In Mexico people sit in the back of pick up trucks because they have no car and the bus doesnt come to there town nor do cabs...so to get out to the market they have to take what's offered. Really if we ponder on the what if's we leave no time for life and all that it has to offer.

 

[LavenderMae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnnieA The bottom line is each family needs to make their own decisions. This article was helpful for DH and I to make the decision that we feel is best for our kids and I thought I would share.

I'm glad you did! I am also glad they continue to study car safety. Since riding in cars is inherently with risk I am glad to be armed with as much info as possible to make it safer for my family.

I passed it on to a couple of friends and posted it on my homeschool group site and I'm sure the responses were probably similiar to what's been posted here (although no one has posted a response yet) . I guess it's along the same lines as turning little ones foward facing because they are believed to be too old to still be rear facing eventhough it's safer.