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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Children in front seat of cars

68 replies

LayMeDown · 14/03/2014 12:00

DD is 7 and tall for her age. She sits in a high back booster. Very occassionnaly when it is just the 2 of us going somewhere I move her booster into the passenger seat and she sits beside me so we can have a good natter.
It has caused a couple of raised eyebrows but I can't see why it is any different from her being in the back? AIBU?

OP posts:

CountessOfRule · 14/03/2014 12:51

A firefighter friend of mine put the fear of God into me regarding car seating in general.

Safest place in the car is the middle of the second row. The passenger side is slightly safer than the driver's side.

So mine are in the youngest seat that fits (eg DC2 fits a HBB but is in a structured 5-point harness thing) and in middle middle, middle left and rear left respectively, with baby in the safest place, toddler in next safest, etc.

Since the front is less safe - and in our car the airbags are irrelevant because they're all over the place - why indeed would I risk my precious cargo in the front when I have a better option?

In our old car we had less choice - it was very hard to click the HBB in next to a fixed car seat, so he was probably safer in the front seat (pushed back) properly fitted than in the back seat possibly not properly fitted. I preferred back seat; DH preferred front seat.

CountessOfRule · 14/03/2014 12:54

Cross posted with everybody.

Interesting Indith because we were told row three safer than row one - ours is a C4 if that makes a difference.

I drive more safely with the DC in the back because I can tune out their noise.

Do we all know the "ouch" rule for loose items? To check whether something is safe to be loose in your car, hit yourself on the head with it. If you say ouch, strap it down or put it away. Soft toys and jelly babies are fine loose; mobile phones, house keys, books etc are not.

SecretNutellaFix · 14/03/2014 12:54

It's not recommended, plus if you have an airbag, the airbag can cause quite serious injuries to children. Airbags are designed with an adult's body in mind, not a child.

Also, if you do shut off your airbag and you have an accident you may not be covered by your insurance.

Safest place is in the back of the car.

VeloWoman · 14/03/2014 13:00

It is illegal where I live unless the back seat is fully occupied by younger children (so if you had a 7, 5, 3 and 1 year old you could legally put the 7 year old in the front). DS who is 6 will not be sitting in the front until he passes the five step test or is 12 years old, now that I am heavily pregnant I push my seat back as far as it will go to put more distance between my belly and the airbag.

I don't really get why you would put a child in the front when you have a vacant seat in the back?

Indith · 14/03/2014 13:07

Countess how much space is behind the seats in row 3 in your car? In a zafira (old shape not the new tourer) the back seats pretty much are the crumple zone, there is no space behind them when they are up.

I'm like Nutella, I use the youngest seat that fits so 2 year old ds2 is still rear facing in a first class plus, 5 year old and 7 year old are in HBB. % year old was in a harness until the weight limit. The 7 year old has recently shot up in height hence trying to find a booster cushion to fit. The booster cushion would always be in the middle seat, I wouldn't be happy with him travelling without and side impact protection otherwise.

All you can ever do is make the best choice given the information you have at the time and all cars will be different and different people may have different opinions about them too. The one who advised us on where to seat ds1 (row 3 or front) was an experienced car seat fitter and I did trust his opinion but you never know, another fitter may have said something different.

In a way I can't wait until they are older and the issue is resolved! I wish more cars were made to accommodate 3 seats in a row/more seats were made with this in mind. Perhaps with the ever increasing car seat laws this will start to happen.

Tiredtrout · 14/03/2014 13:07

It's any car seat, front or rear facing

feathermucker · 14/03/2014 13:10

My DS is 7 and sits on a booster seat in the front passenger seat.

My car is 25 years old and has no passenger airbag.

trashcanjunkie · 14/03/2014 13:12

what's the five step test?

Damnautocorrect · 14/03/2014 13:16

Surely it depends on the accident? If your hit from the rear it's best in the front, if you hit the front the backs safer? If your cars Ina high speed collision and you need them out quickly, next to you.
There's too many variables.
Mine sits in the front on long journeys if it's just us so I can pass drinks, open crisps and chat. Seats far back air bag on (I'm closer to the airbag than he is).
It's not illegal I've been stopped twice (insurance database fuck up) and the police have only said hello to my son

floppyfanjo · 14/03/2014 13:16

Most people use a rear facing infant seat in the front seat (with air bag disabled) As long as the seat is appropriate for the childs age/size I cant see what the problem would be legal or otherwise.

ilovepowerhoop · 14/03/2014 13:18

tiredtrout, that is not true - forward facing seats can go in the front with airbags active (some are not able to be deactivated without going to a garage). It is safest if the seat is moved as far back from the dashboard as possible. It is only illegal to carry a rearfacing carseat in the front with active airbags.

CountessOfRule · 14/03/2014 13:19

A foot or two? There is a small boot behind row three.

The safety statistics take into account the relative frequency of different collisions (ie most are in line with travel, not side-on, more likely to drive into something than be rear-ended, etc.

Iggi101 · 14/03/2014 13:19

Loads of kids (5/6 years old) being picked up from ds's school have a booster seat in the front of the car. My ds is always a bit that I won't let him.

TheScience · 14/03/2014 13:20

Tired - could you link to that law?

Nocomet · 14/03/2014 13:20

The risk of me having an accident straining to hear what my DDs are saying to me or, when smaller trying to work out what they were bickering about, is far higher than worrying about putting them in the front.

Also by 9-10 they start to be genuinely useful looking round bends and at weird angle junctions on our nasty lanes.

Waltonswatcher1 · 14/03/2014 13:21

Madness if the back seats are free .
I can talk to my children easily in the back .

ilovepowerhoop · 14/03/2014 13:21

www.childcarseats.org.uk/choosing/position1.htm - only mentions it being illegal for rear facing seats to be in the front with active airbag

ilovepowerhoop · 14/03/2014 13:22

although my kids always sit in the back and they are 10 and 7

Indith · 14/03/2014 13:23

Countess so you still have crumple zone at the back! In ours anything hitting us at any speed would be straight into the back of the person in row 3's head. Hence the thinking that the front is safer for us and in our car.

ilovepowerhoop · 14/03/2014 13:24

www.childcarseats.org.uk/law/index.htm#otherfront

TaurielTest · 14/03/2014 13:26

Like OP I have once or twice let my DS1, who is 5, sit in the front in his carseat - he likes to be the co-pilot, read roadsigns out to me, chat. DP does this too.
I feel a bit unsure about it though, knowing the risks are greater if we had a collision, and also it makes his younger brother a bit jealous. Reading this, I think I'm going to suggest to DP that we put a stop to it, at least for a while.

BertieBotts · 14/03/2014 13:32

overthehill In a booster seat the average child's head is not at the level of an adult's head so the airbag is not positioned safely for them. If the child is tall enough on the booster that their chest is likely to take the hit (bearing in mind the airbag is designed for adult chest height) then it is safe.

Notanexcitingname · 14/03/2014 13:33

Tiredtrout, I don't disbelieve you, but do you have a reference/link for that information? All I've ever read has said to push the seat back as far as possible. Mine sometimes have to travel in the front seat out of necessity, and I'd hate to be breaking the law by not switching the airbag off (which is not trivial on my car). It's bad enough that its not ideal.

ilovepowerhoop · 14/03/2014 13:34

I have linked to the law above and it says nothing about front facing seats being illegal in the front seat with active airbags.

magicberry · 14/03/2014 13:36

Airbag is nothing to do with breaking the law - it's because it's dangerous as the child's head is at a different height, even if forward facing.

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