Rearfacing people, talk to me

[beararse]

I went to a car seat clinic the other day and asked the safety expert person about rearfacing. I told him I was thinking of going to the nearest dealer to look at them (it's 180 miles away!) and he said that with our car (Meriva) he'd be hesitant because there's so little rear protection, and a good front-facing with an impact shield would be better for DD (1 year). He said if we'd had an estate or a big saloon then yes, rear-facing would be better. I can't deny that when he pointed out how little car there is between the DC and the rear bumper I did think twice.

The thing is, I later discovered that he actually works for the rearfacing seat dealer I was talking about, so it sounds like he really was giving honest advice (he could easily have had a sale from me there and then!). I'm a bit surprised though, because I've heard nothing but positives about rearfacing on here. Any thoughts?

lol! not sure what to say to that...i've heard some weird comments on here about rf seats but not this before! i would call the road safety officers from essex and ask them or the in car safety centre in milton keynes or belfast.

either that or you could email carseat.se. they have all been really helpful in the past when i was looking for advice.

:)

Ive not heard that before. I would have thought that if you sit FF, then your back and neck are closest to the rear of the car, thus causing a higer impact if hit. If you are rear facing it would be your legs that got squashed in the crumple zone before your back/neck.... You still get thrown forwards in a rear collision hence the potential damage to neck/spine if FF regrdless of how long/short your car is.

Hello (again not stalking honest!)

I can't say I have heard this but Like another poster said ring in car safety centre - they will be able to advise.

It's interesting. He talked about the level of damage sustained in accidents when cars are hit from the rear (he said "just ask her and she'll tell you" at which point to police officer was nodding knowingly). It's so hard, and worrying :(

I've always worked on the assumption that Front impact collisions are worst due to high speeds (think car on motorway hitting something stationary). Rear impacts are typically at lower speeds (think rear-enders at junctions). In which case it makes sense to insure against the worst case scenario because the forces are greater and more likely to lead to injury.

(apologies, don't think I'm explaining myself very well)

i think he's talking bollocks to be quite honest with you.

in a forward facing seat your child will be nearer the back of the car than if they are rear-facing.

you are far more likely to be in a head-on collision than be rear-ended.
and if you are rear-ended the forces involved are generally much less.

he can work for a dealer but still be on commission for other products (like impact shield ones) etc etc

Hmmm. Interesting. He's actually the adviser for one of the independent dealers recommended on the rearfacing website and the carseatinfo website.

that doesn't mean he is good at his job tho

i'd be tempted to go in and ask him more questions

At 180 miles away he'll get a phonecall at best!

rear impacts are very "forgiving" since both cars are travelling in the same direction and therefore do not come to an abrupt stop. Most rear impacts happen at low speeds and in car ques