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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

More of a WWYD re: car seats.

57 replies

IsThatTrue · 04/08/2013 11:52

Right I mistakenly thought that I could turn the passenger airbag off In my car but looking at it it doesn't have the switch. Now I have a dilemma. I need to do a 5hr journey (including motorways) with 3dc 8, 6 and 7 mo. usually I have 6 out of the 7 seats up but I will have luggage etc so can only have 5 seats up. So now I have the dilemma of how to arrange the car.

I cannot fit both high backed boosters and the rear facing car seat across the back of the car. Dd is the tallest at 130 cm. but the manual says not to put anybody under 140cm in the front seat when the airbag is active but I can't deactivate it

The other option is that the car has an in built booster cushion in the centre of the 3 rear seats, which dd is within the size and weight ranges for, but there is no side impact protection.

So what would be safer? Dd in the front on her normal high backed booster with the airbag on? Or on the integral booster cushion in the centre at the back?

Please help!

OP posts:
soverylucky · 04/08/2013 12:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LemonBreeland · 04/08/2013 12:44

In yur situation I would use the front seat with the seat as far back as possible. Or use the integral booster as there will ge some side protection from the other two seats either side of her.

Clargo55 · 04/08/2013 12:45

Do you have a halfords or similar near you? They will be open a sell roof racks. I think child safety needs to be paramount to non essentials being in the car.

NoSquirrels · 04/08/2013 12:45

Well you can't use the seat in the front if you can't switch the airbag off, and if you really can't reconfigure your seats and ditch any equipment then you need to use the integral booster for the 8 yr old in the back. If she's within the height and weight range, and the seatbelt is correctly fitted to her body it's fine. Obviously the side impact booster would be the ideal, but it is not unsafe to go with the integral booster.

YoniBottsBumgina · 04/08/2013 12:45

In the back in the middle I think. Side impact is less of an issue in the middle, the danger from this is if another vehicle hits the side of the car, the car seat provides a cushion between the other vehicle and the child's head, basically. It would be extremely unlikely (and it would have to be a horrendous accident with little chance of survival anyway) that a child in the middle would be at risk from a side impact.

Original poster
IsThatTrue · 04/08/2013 12:47

Baby not safe in with me he'd crawl off the edge. We used to co sleep but he's just too much of a wriggler!

My parents don't really have friends. That sounds stupid but true. There is a basic umbrella fold buggy there but DS is only 7mo and when he falls asleep he needs to lay down.

Confused

Thanks for all the help though. I'm looking at pop up travel cots and travel high chairs online. I could at least squash the clothing in the front seat and the rest around the 6th seat at a push if I don't have the travel cot and high chair.

OP posts:
Goldmandra · 04/08/2013 12:53

DH has checked. There is a switch available but Volvo won't permit UK dealers to fit it.

You could take the back off oldest DD's booster and sit her on the front seat pushed back on runners as far as possible. Booster would give her 10cm extra height and there would be no back to push her towards the danger zone. The only concern then is that the pre-tensioner which keeps you back from the airbag in event of an impact may have a weight sensor and not be activated if your DD is too light.

If you put her in the back between two rigid seat-backs she is at risk if the other seats move inwards but the side impact protection in a Volvo is excellent and the impact would have to be quite big to encroach upon the passenger compartment in that way.

DH reckons that if you're in an XC90 you're children are already amongst the safest on the road anyway.

Sorry. That's probably not enormously helpful in making your decision.

Original poster
IsThatTrue · 04/08/2013 13:00

gold actually that helps a lot. It's letting me relax about it a bit. At least the car is a safe one even though I can't be 100%about my choice for car seats this journey.

OP posts:
Original poster
IsThatTrue · 04/08/2013 13:02

gold (sorry for multiple posts) she's between 1 solid back and the rear facing seat (so nothing solid next to her head) so this is probably preferable to the front seat isn't it?

OP posts:
Goldmandra · 04/08/2013 13:12

I am no expert in car safety and nor is DH but I think if it were my child she would be in the back seat on the booster. Only her lower half will be between two rigid structures and she'll be away from the airbag. The middle of the back seat is pretty much the safest seat in the car IMO as they are as far as possible from the sides in an impact.

As a parent you can only reduce risks, not eliminate them.

If only all parents put as much thought as you do into their children's safety Smile

5madthings · 04/08/2013 13:14

i would go for back seat on the integral booster seat.

Flatasawitchestit · 04/08/2013 13:18

Put stuff by the kids feet? I've got 3 kids and a Audi A3, often go away to visit family and they have to have their feet on a suitcase or buggy.

I'm surprised cars don't have a off switch. For the airbag.

CheeseFondueRocks · 04/08/2013 13:25

It's the most stupid thing ever to have luggage in the passenger room under the kids' feet. It'll fly everywhere in a crash.

Go with the booster in the middle.

HappyAsASandboy · 04/08/2013 13:27

If you can't turn the airbag off, I'd use the integral booster in the back seat.

You may have already looked, but my airbag switch is in the glove compartment, not the end of the dashboard. We don't have a switch in DHs car though, which just seems crackers to me :(

Charleymouse · 04/08/2013 13:32

I have one of those and DD 8 always uses the integral booster seat in the back middle.
The air bag switch in our is when you open the front passenger door on the side of the dashboard, only visible when door is open. HTH.

bababababoom · 04/08/2013 16:30

I'd use the built in booster in the middle seat.

QueenofKelsingra · 04/08/2013 16:35

Put your biggest child in the front in their HBB, push the seat as far back as possible so as far from the air bag as possible.

DO NOT put luggage in the main body of the car with the children, if you did crash it would be loose flying around the car and could cause severe injury.

Original poster
IsThatTrue · 04/08/2013 16:36

I've looked, there is definitely no switch on the end of the dash (where I thought it was) or in the glove compartment.

Thanks everyone for your ideas and help! I am going to put dd on the integral booster cushion as this seems preferable.

OP posts:
Goldmandra · 04/08/2013 16:44

Sounds like the right decision to me Smile

I hope your 5 hour journey goes swimmingly.

Original poster
IsThatTrue · 04/08/2013 17:28

Thanks gold

OP posts:
sebastianthesingingaubergine · 04/08/2013 17:32

You should not need to do anything as it has a weight sensor which disables the airbag automatically for children - read :

Volvo recommends that ALL occupants (adults and children) shorter than 4 feet 7 inches (140 cm) be seated in the back seat of any vehicle with a front passenger side airbag, and be properly restrained for their size and weight.

For child safety recommendations,see page 38.

The Occupant Weight Sensor (OWS) is designed to meet the regulatory requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 and is designed to disable (will not inflate) the passenger's side front airbag under certain conditions.

The OWS works with sensors that are part of the front passenger's seat and seat belt. The sensors are designed to detect the presence of a properly seated occupant and determine if the passenger's side front airbag should be enabled (may inflate) or disabled (will not inflate).

The OWS will disable (will not inflate) the passenger's side front airbag when:

? the front passenger's seat is unoccupied, or has small/medium objects in the front seat, ? the system determines that an infant is present in a rear-facing infant seat that is installed according to the manufacturer's instructions, ? the system determines that a small child is present in a forward-facing child restraint that is installed according to the manufacturer's instructions, ? the system determines that a small child is present in a booster seat, ? a front passenger takes his/her weight off of the seat for a period of time, ? a child or a small person occupies the front passenger's seat.

The OWS uses a PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp which will illuminate and stay on to remind you that the passenger's side front airbag is disabled. The PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp is located in the overhead console, near the base of the rearview mirror.

NOTE
When the ignition is switched on, the OWS indicator light will go on for up to 10 seconds while the system performs a self-diagnostic test.

However, if a fault is detected in the system:
? The OWS indicator light will stay on
? The SRS warning light (see page 21) will come on and stay on
? The message Pass. Airbag OFF Service urgen-64 will be displayed in the information display.

WARNING
If a fault in the system is detected and indicated as described, be aware that the passenger's side front airbag will not deploy in the event of a collision. In this case, the SRS system and Occupant Weight Sensor should be inspected by a trained and qualified Volvo service technician as soon as possible.

monicalewinski · 04/08/2013 17:35

Just googled it - forward facing seats are fine in the front with an airbag, just move the seat back on its runners. If is only rear facing seats that you MUST have the airbag off. I would personally put the eldest in front in their booster seat, rather than crammed in the middle in the back.

Enjoy the 5 hours!!!

ceeveebee · 04/08/2013 17:35

You could courier some/all your excess luggage? I've used these before for large parcels:

www.myhermes.co.uk/wps/portal/PN_CTR/Home/homepage/

honeytea · 04/08/2013 18:12

I would be very very supprised if a volvo had no airbag off option as in Sweden people very often have children in rear facing car seats in the frount of the car (kids rf till 4/5 here) We have a volvo (different model) and can turn the air bag off.

Is there an IKEA close to your parents house? You could pick up a cot and high chair for under 100 pounds, would be worth it for peace of mind imo.

If your parents call around their friends it is very likely they would have baby gear they could lend you.

Original poster
IsThatTrue · 04/08/2013 18:28

honey there honestly is no switch.

I will check the sensor thing out with dd in a minute. Although she wouldn't be squashed in the back. There's room, just not enough to put 3 car seats across and reach down to do the seatbelts.

OP posts: