..to ask why you allow your child to sit in the front seat of the car?

[schooltripwoes]

By child I mean one small enough to need a car seat / booster (under 11s or thereabouts).

All safety advice I've ever read clearly states that children are generally much, much safer sat in the back of the car if there were to be an accident.

Passenger seat safety features such as airbags are designed to protect an adult body, and as such may not work well for a young child.

Yet many of the children arriving at my children's school / hobbies travel sat in the front of the car (I notice this mainly for ages 5-8). In some cases it's because the rear seats are occupied with several siblings / lift shares, but in most cases it's not.

If you let your child sit in the front, why?

There is no law against children sitting in the front seat, as long as they are using the right child restraint for their height and weight. However, as above it is illegal to use a rearward-facing child car seat in a passenger seat protected by an airbag. ... Taxi drivers are exempt from supplying child car seats.
RSA.ie - The Law

The kids in the picture in the rear facing seats look uncomfortable, would you like to sit like that on a long journey? I know I wouldn't as even on a short journey I like to move my legs about. My littlen is nearly 11 months and to be honest I don't think she'll be in her rear facing seat much longer ...

Hushhush their skeletons are different to ours, and their legs hang down and their necks have virtually no support ff. My 3yo has a seat that spins forward so at this stage I allow him choose for short spins and 9/10 or more, he picks rf. He sleeps like that fully supported, tilted back with his feet up.

Empmalswa

Not very bright are you?

A tad uncalled for...Not very nice are you?

Mine always found rear facing more comfortable tbh, because forward facing their legs dangled whereas rear facing they are supported.

We only stated letting our DS sit in the front when he was tall enough not to need his booster. He was 10. Our DD still needs a booster and only goes in the front seat when we need the back seat ie when we go camping, we take both cars and a child each and put the back seats down to get everything in.

These are some interesting statistics from the latest government report on car accidents (page

Children (aged 15 or under)
There were 48 child deaths in 2017, down from 69 deaths in 2016. Overall child casualties decreased by 2% between 2016 and 2017. However, child fatalities have fluctuated between 48 and 69 over 2010 to 2017 with no clear trend.

As has been the case historically, child fatalities are mainly pedestrian (22 fatalities in 2017) and car occupant (20 fatalities). This is because these are the forms of transport most commonly used by children.

Overall child casualties of all severities decreased by 2% to 15,721 which is the lowest year on record. The number of child casualties of all severities in 2017 was 11% lower than the 2010-14 average.

15,721 child casualties of which:
37% were pedestrians
23% occurred between 3pm and 5pm on a weekday
14% occurred between 7am and 9am on a weekday

Source: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/744077/reported-road-casualties-annual-report-2017.pdf

Weighing up risks and probabilities, a child being injured in a car is lower than a child being injured whilst walking to school.

Statistically, child casualty numbers are low compared to other age groups.

We’ve always allowed our dd in the front because statistically, I believe it is a minute risk to her in comparison to the back.

I was out with the grandson, we had been to the shops and decided to call at my friends further down my road, for the shops he was in baby seat, in the back of my car, he was about 2 years old at the time.

Came out of friends, I put him in the front seat with seatbelt round him for the remaining 500 yards of our journey. Slowing down to turn in my drive a car rear ended me, hit me so hard the spare tyre in boot came through the back seat and tore the baby seat out, he would have been killed had I not had him in the front.

I have nightmares about that accident

I've always wondered how safe it is travelling in the back row of a 7 seater - it looks to me like those passengers are sitting in the crumple zone.

Interesting stats coached.

Pp have said the roads are much worse than in the past, but my understanding is that the opposite is true, deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents are lower than the 1970s.

Cars are much safer and the compulsory seat belts have made the difference.

A tad uncalled for...Not very nice are you?

Usually I am tbh, but it was a really stupid comment.

The poster claimed that progression in safety was 'too much protective fuss' based on the fact that they were ok to travel without a belt years ago.

Hardly clever, was it?

I have put ds in the front seat in his HBB on a couple of occasions for a quick trip to the shops, i put the seat right back and put the airbag off

Because despite having a huge Phev, you can't properly fit 3 car seats in the back. I can't swap the car for two more Years, so one must be in the front with the airbag off. It is very frustrating.

Our son was in the back until he was 11, by which time he was taller than me. If both adults are in the front though he sits in the back automatically - think it's crazy when you see families driving around with Dad or Mum in the back and a child in the front! Of course car sickness does come into it but surely not in every case.

Cars are much safer and the compulsory seat belts have made the difference

I agree @Fightthebear and actually, people are more aware and safer on the roads. The introduction of educating drivers eg speed awareness, motorway awareness courses instead of points and fines, means people are more aware of the actual reasons for safe driving.

Sounds obvious, but 30mph in a “built up” area is that because it means people (pedestrians) are around.

I remember from a speed awareness course years ago that a permanent speed camera is normally put in place because at least 2 serious accidents have happened in that particular spot. Not sure how true that is now, but whenever I see one, I always remember that fact.

Babyshark if your DS is forward facing in a HBB
You
Do
Not
Need
To
Turn
The
Airbag
Off

(But do continue to push the seat back as far as it will go)

behemoth i always thought you had to turn the airbag off too. But now see that you just need to put the seat back like i did. Thank you

By child I mean one small enough to need a car seat / booster (under 11s or thereabouts).

Mine haven't needed these since they were around 8.

Because on the days DD2 (8) and I don’t cycle, we drive at a max of 20 mph to school - hardly likely to have a fatal accident. Long journeys, in the back.

My 7 year old sits in the front in a high back booster with airbag off. Is this wrong?? We like sitting beside each other. He does the music.

Sadly, my DC is far more likely to be fatally injured cycling to school than sitting in the front seat. But they love it, it’s good exercise, cheaper and better for everyone. Stressful for me though.

When I have both my children they sit in the back. When I’ve just got one child they sit up front with me. Always in a car seat. I’m more concerned that I’m the only y5 parent at our school who still uses a booster seat for my child. Many of the children in her class are smaller too. I picked up one child to give a lift and she refused the booster seat because it hurts her hips. Her parents were there and agreed with her. No idea why. She’s a lot smaller than my child of the same age who has never complained about her hips. Youngest is 6 and has a high back booster but most of her friends have just the booster cushion. When she’s been in the car without the back she complains she doesn’t feel right!! Front seat rides are rare for the 6 year old as she’s not often on her own with me. Camping usually means one in the front and one in the back due to having half the back seat folded down. That’s probably a whole other safety thread though.

High back booster seat didn't fit in the back of a fiat 500 when had to extend the head rest part so had to go in the front

It is just as safe to have a rear facing seat in the front as long as the air bag is off. It is less safe forward facing and you need to check your car manual to determine the optimum position of the seat and whether the air bag should be on or off. A lot of misinformation on this thread.

@Cakecrumbsinmybra Probably not fatal, no. But don't underestimate the damage an airbag can do and make sure the seat is pushed well back (they can / do deploy at low speeds). A friend (adult male) was left deaf in one ear from an airbag injury. He was pulling away from a junction at low speed when the car in front suddenly stopped. It was bad luck that his head was where it was and the airbag 'exploded' level with his ear. Obviously this is preferable to the potential damage that would result if this had been a high speed impact, but in this case he'd have been much better off without the airbag deploying .