is it unsafe to have baby in its carseat in passenger front side?

[enimod]

hi i aldready have a 3 year old and baby due in 5 weeks- we have a maxicosi cabriofix easy base seat and i was wondering is it unsafe to have baby in passenger seat front- if i have baby in back i feel i'll be distracted from driving etc. is there a link to show me the safetyh of a front seat compared to a back? thank you

[rempy]

Unsafe if there is an airbag. Ok but not ideal if there is no airbag.

[EleanoraBuntingCupcake]

i think it is more distracting to have a baby in teh front seat.

[claricebeansmum]

I think one of the biggest issues is whether you disable your front passenger air bag. If you can't then the baby must go in the back.

[LIZS]

It is illegal with an airbag but you may be able to deactivate it.

[suiledonn]

I did it with dd1 but in a car with no airbag. If you have an airbag then it must be switched off.

I have heard since that it is not as safe as them being in the back seat though.

Sorry don't have links to any evidence or reports on the subject though.

[Hulababy]

You must not have a rear facing car seat in any seat which has an active airbag.

If you do have a car seat in the front passenger seat then you should ensure the airbag is deactivated and the seat is pushed as far back as it can go.

The passenger seat in a car is actually the elast safe place in a car apparently. Can't remember the research, but have read it on a number of occasions.

The safest place is in the centre of the back seat, then the back seat behind the passenger, and thirdly back seat behing the driver IIRR.

[GrimmaTheNome]

If you have a passenger-side airbag then it is extremely dangerous. You must not have a rear-facing carseat with an airbag.

If not, or if it can be deactivated, then its ok. We specifically ordered a car with no passenger airbag so I could have DD next to me when she was a baby.

HTH

[kellyatbabyguds]

Even if you can turn the airbag off because even turned off there is still a possibilty the air bag could go off depending on the angle the car is hit in an accident. The back is a much safer place.

[kellyatbabyguds]

Even if you can turn the airbag off I would still use the back of the car because even turned off there is still a possibilty the air bag could go off depending on the angle the car is hit in an accident. The back is a much safer place.

[enimod]

thank you for the replies- our car doesnt have an air bag so that is one positive- so is it safest in the middle then i didnt know that? still not sure which place to put baby- only really when doing nursery trip as nursery is too far to walk- number 1 had problems and would stop breathing so that lingers in my mind-paranoia! so if baby was in the front this might be better for me rather thatn continually looking in the mirror and over my shoulder!! not sure really what to do

[lynniep]

it is more safe in the rear in general. I always had a back-seat mirror so I could see DS1 when he was in the back. wasnt an issue. got it out again for forthcoming DS2

[sazm]

i have 3 kids,i have the big 2 in the back and baby in the front in his maxi-cosi(no airbag)
i find it much better having baby in front,i can see if he is sick/stick his dummy in if he is tired,and i generally prefer to be able to see him,i have always put the rearfacing seat in the front with all 3 kids,

[GoldenSnitch]

I had something like this when DS was in his facing Maxi Cosi in the back seat. Then, using the rear view mirror, I could easily get a quick glance at him without turning away from the road. (I could also see the road behind me btw)

Now he's front facing, I have another sort of mirror - looks like a mini rear view mirror - so I can still see him without turning round.

DD is due in December and my plan is to put her in the seat behind me and use the mirror to keep an eye on her. DS will stay where he is in the rear passenger side seat as he has very long legs and needs the seat in front of him to be as far forward as possible (I only have a little Polo)

There is not a lot I can safely do to stop a small baby crying while driving anyway so having the baby in the back shouldn't make too much difference. I think she'll be less distracting in the back.

Those seats really are safest too.