Mercury Sable Wagon and car pooling

[topmama]

I am about to purchase a used (1997) Mercury Sable Wagon (like the Taurus) with a OEM third rear facing seat. I like this seat because the users torso and feet are far from the hatch back and its window- I could almost stretch out my 5'9" frame.

I am about to start car pooling 6 kids one day a week and will have to put one of them in the front seat which has an airbag with no built-in turn off switch. None of the children are teenagers or big, so in order to get everyone home, I am going to have to put my 52lb 4 ft 6 year old in the front - it the only way I can get this done.

I am planning, based on earlier posts here, on using a high backed booster seat with 5 point harness and setting the front passenger chair back as far as it can go, to get her away from the dash and airbag.

Any other suggestions/modifications?
Somewhere I read that we could qualify to turn off the passenger airbag if I regularly have to put a child under 12 in the front. Does anyone know if I can get the 5 year old car modified to allow a flexible on-off system, so that the airbag is not permanently on or permanently off?

Any other suggestions/modifications?

[CPSDarren]

First, you may indeed be a candidate to have an on/off switch installed.


For local installers, please see:

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/airbags/switch_install/index.cfm


Forms may be available from these installers, or by contacting NHTSA at the number at the bottom of this page:

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/newtips/tip9.html

Are any of the children in a front-facing carseat with a 5-point harness? If so, they may be an even better candidate to be seated in front depending on the circumstances. Your 6 year old is too heavy to use the harness on combination booster models.