[lovingmommyhood]

Okay. So last week my baby cousin (22 mts) died in a car accident. To keep this short, the car was essentially broad sided and he was sitting behind the passenger on the outside buckled into his car seat. He was partially crushed and died from head trauma.

Onto my question.

DS1 is almost three, sits in a Marathon behind the driver in my car. He's forward facing.
DS2 is one, sits in a Boulevard behind the passenger in my car. He's rear-facing.

After the accident I got freaked out and decided to move DS2 to the middle if possible. (We originally didn't want DS1 to bother the baby but now they're both older) Well, we got them both installed and tethered and they seem to be installed correctly but it is a very very tight fit. There is NO space between the two.

Is it going to effect the performance of either seat being that they are so tight up against each other?

I feel confident because they are installed very well and tethered but I'm just not sure what the rule on this is. I will get it inspected but I want to know what you all think since that won't be for a few days.

 

[ThreeBeans]

Actually, no, people and carseats tend to fare slightly better up against each other in an accident oddly enough.

Is C still rearfacing? If he's forward facing, I would put him in the middle, not H.

You might want to get the seats checked at a station. Often times when they are installed next to each other you have the appearance of a tight install but they are 'dependent' on each other...in other words...if one is moved the other is looser than it should be.

 

[lovingmommyhood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThreeBeans Actually, no, people and carseats tend to fare slightly better up against each other in an accident oddly enough. Is C still rearfacing? If he's forward facing, I would put him in the middle, not H. You might want to get the seats checked at a station. Often times when they are installed next to each other you have the appearance of a tight install but they are 'dependent' on each other...in other words...if one is moved the other is looser than it should be.

Oh, this is good news!

No, he's not rearfacing. We switched him (much to my dismay) after Harrison was born because we couldn't have someone rearfacing behind the driver because the seat had to be up too far. He's 29 lbs. so I suppose I could switch him back to rearfacing. I wonder what he'd think of that?

He never complained about rf'ing...

Thanks for the advice!

 

[toddlermama16]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThreeBeans Actually, no, people and carseats tend to fare slightly better up against each other in an accident oddly enough. Is C still rearfacing? If he's forward facing, I would put him in the middle, not H.

ITA. It is much safer to have the FF child in the middle. Otherwise, his head could come out of the shell of the carseat and potentially strike the window during a crash. The RF carseat has MUCH more protection.

 

[lovingmommyhood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by toddlermama16 ITA. It is much safer to have the FF child in the middle. Otherwise, his head could come out of the shell of the carseat and potentially strike the window during a crash. The RF carseat has MUCH more protection.

I guess my reasoning was that RF'ing wouldn't protect him from being crushed in a side impact collision and since DS2 is bigger his body might be able to withstand more. I suppose that isn't scientific at all.

: I'm sure a side impact collision at high speeds is pretty rare.

 

[mbhf]

i would also put the marathon in the middle and the boulevard outboard.

 

[lovingmommyhood]

I guess they happen more than I thought.

"Side impacts are the second most common fatal crash type after frontalcrashes and require focused attention from the safety community," saysKristy Arbogast, Ph.D., Associate Director of Field Engineering,TraumaLink, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "Most importantly,we need to focus on the most vulnerable occupants-- children."
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA), 42 percent of child fatalities to rear-seated children ages 0to 8 years occur in side-impact collisions. Overall, side-impactcrashes kill about 300 American children under age 8 each year and result in more severe injuries at lower crash severities than frontal collisions.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0913083440.htm

 

[maxymum]

was reading the posts here for all the great info...
and i just wanted to say that i am so sorry about your cousin, that's just so so sad

 

[lovingmommyhood]

http://www.thecarseatlady.com/car_se...g_seats_4.html Someone else who agrees with you. I will switch them today.

 

[Mccmama07]

I have a follow up question

DS will be three early next month. He's 36 inches tall and weighs 36lbs. He's forward facing in a Marathon in the center. I'm due in about 2 weeks with DC #2. We have an infant car seat (bucket/base) for the new baby. Our car is a 2001 so we had LATCH installed when we bought it new to us. The dealer was able to position the LATCH so we could safely use it from any position (side or center). Basically they are all evenly spaced (included the top tether) to allow for any configuration we want.

Based on the previous posts-ideally DS should go in the middle since he's forward facing and DC #2 is rear facing so should go on the side-but I don't think I can get the marathon and the bucket side by side (middle/side) in our backseat-it's too tight. I think they are going to have to go on either side. Which side should baby go on and which side should DS go?

Or, do I use LATCH for the baby seat on the side and try to tightly install the Marathon in the middle? I just don't want to compromise the safety of either seat by having them too close to each other.

All these decisions

:

 

[toddlermama16]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mccmama07 I have a follow up question DS will be three early next month. He's 36 inches tall and weighs 36lbs. He's forward facing in a Marathon in the center. I'm due in about 2 weeks with DC #2. We have an infant car seat (bucket/base) for the new baby. Our car is a 2001 so we had LATCH installed when we bought it new to us. The dealer was able to position the LATCH so we could safely use it from any position (side or center). Basically they are all evenly spaced (included the top tether) to allow for any configuration we want. Based on the previous posts-ideally DS should go in the middle since he's forward facing and DC #2 is rear facing so should go on the side-but I don't think I can get the marathon and the bucket side by side (middle/side) in our backseat-it's too tight. I think they are going to have to go on either side. Which side should baby go on and which side should DS go? Or, do I use LATCH for the baby seat on the side and try to tightly install the Marathon in the middle? I just don't want to compromise the safety of either seat by having them too close to each other. All these decisions :

Most cars you CANNOT use latch in the middle (and most car seats for that matter!). The only cars that I know of that you can use center latch are Ford and Mazada. (And any other cars that specifically say that you CAN use latch in the owners manual.) Furthermore, you have to make sure that the specific car seat you are using allows for different spacing of latch anchors. I am able to use our Marathon with the middle latch in our Mazada Tribute, but only because I happen to have a seat and a car that allow for that.

Like the previous post said, you can have the seats touching, but make sure both seats are tightly installed. Have them checked by a tech if possible.

We have a similar set up in our car, and I ended up having the Marathon outboard behind the passenger, and the infant seat outboard behind the driver. There is no statistical difference in safety between the two positions.

 

[lovingmommyhood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mccmama07 I have a follow up question DS will be three early next month. He's 36 inches tall and weighs 36lbs. He's forward facing in a Marathon in the center. I'm due in about 2 weeks with DC #2. We have an infant car seat (bucket/base) for the new baby. Our car is a 2001 so we had LATCH installed when we bought it new to us. The dealer was able to position the LATCH so we could safely use it from any position (side or center). Basically they are all evenly spaced (included the top tether) to allow for any configuration we want. Based on the previous posts-ideally DS should go in the middle since he's forward facing and DC #2 is rear facing so should go on the side-but I don't think I can get the marathon and the bucket side by side (middle/side) in our backseat-it's too tight. I think they are going to have to go on either side. Which side should baby go on and which side should DS go? Or, do I use LATCH for the baby seat on the side and try to tightly install the Marathon in the middle? I just don't want to compromise the safety of either seat by having them too close to each other. All these decisions :

I was never able to get my graco snugride to sit side by side with my marathon so I feel your pain on that one.

Both sides are statistically the same.

 

[Lisa85]

I don't have a Marathon, but a FPSVD which is the same shell as the marathon and a snugride. They don't even come close to being able to sit next to each other as hard as I tried. So they both sit rfing. The FPSVD takes up slightly less room than the snugride so dd1 rides behind the driver and dd2 behind the passenger. (I have an 04 Alero FWIW)

IIRC, the Boulevard has side impact protection? I would def. put that one on the outboard and the marathon in the center. As for which one with which kid, IDK.

 

[chinaKat]

I have no advice, but I'm so sorry to hear about your family's tragedy.

 

[happyhippiemama]

I'm sorry for your family's loss.

And now OT:

Quote:

Originally Posted by lovingmommyhood I'm sure a side impact collision at high speeds is pretty rare.

When DD was 4 months old, I was in a car accident that wasn't my fault. A car travelling the opposite direction from me on a 2-way highway lost control and slid in front of me. We were both going about 60 mph. My mitsubishi lancer T-boned the passenger side of his older chevy cavalier. I broke my femur and took an ambulance, but he broke both of his, broke some ribs, punctured a lung, had to be cut out with the jaws of life, and was helicoptered to the hospital. We both were buckled in.

If anyone would have been in the passenger side or in the middle, they most certainly would have died.