Is center with belt safer than outer with latch?

[FunkyMonkey31]

I am confused about this.

I for some reason thought latch is safer? Educate me!

[Gypsy]

Yes, provided all installs are good.

Center is safest - seatbelt OR LATCH.

Outboard is safer than center if the install outboard is better than the center install.

Seatbelt and LATCH are equally safe - you should use whatever gets you the better installation in the seating position of your choice. If neither are good installs, moving to a different seating position may be required.

When in doubt, have your seats checked by a CPST!

Don't forget, always top tether forward facing seats!

[codex57]

Yup, whichever one gets you a better install is better. Center is good b/c you're hedging your bets on a side impact. If a car crashes into the passenger side, then driver side outboard is safer. Vice versa. Since you don't know which side will get hit, center is a good way to hedge your bets.

Also, remember that LATCH has weight limits that might be lower than the limit of the car. 40 lbs in many vehicles. 45 in others. LATCH is for convenience, not safety.

[ed_tricia]

I think the reasoning behind thinking that LATCH is safer is b/c it is frequently easier to get a tight install and eliminates some possible errors, like threading the seat belt through the wrong path or something.
With a previous seat, we opted for outboard w/ LATCH because when we got it tight enough center w/ seat belt it tilted. Now we have a different seat that installs well with the seat belt, so we can do center again.

[LISmama810]

Yup, whichever one gets you a better install is better.

I would say that an acceptable center install is better than a rock-solid outboard install, but there are people who would disagree. (In other words, I might be able to get it rock-solid outboard with LATCH, or with a small--less than an inch--amount of movement center with seatbelt. I'd go with center.) Of course, sometimes you can get it rock-solid with a belt and not with LATCH... Just saying.

Center is good b/c you're hedging your bets on a side impact. If a car crashes into the passenger side, then driver side outboard is safer. Vice versa. Since you don't know which side will get hit, center is a good way to hedge your bets.

I think there was a study showing that center was safer even than being on the opposite side from a side impact. I have no idea where to find that study, though, and it's very possible I'm not remembering correctly.

I think the reasoning behind thinking that LATCH is safer is b/c it is frequently easier to get a tight install and eliminates some possible errors, like threading the seat belt through the wrong path or something.

Yeah, the IDEA is that LATCH makes it easier, and therefore safer, by eliminating complications. The reality is that LATCH has as many issues as seatbelts do, if not more. You can still have the strap going through the wrong belt path. You can have the connectors upside-down. You can be using a non-approved location. You can exceed the weight limit.

But I digress.

[FunkyMonkey31]

Ok, but if you have two kids , lets say 1 year apart, how do you decide which ones get the center and which one gets the outer edge? you know what i mean, how do you decide which one is safer?

[UlrikeDG]

First of all, a properly used seat provides excellent protection, so that's your primary goal.

Beyond that, a rear facing seat protects better than a forward facing seat, which protects better than a booster. Assuming I can get a good fit and there aren't other issues, I prefer to put the most protected child in the least protected position, so that would be the rear facing child outboard. If I had two rear facing children, I'd put the oldest one outboard.

[joolsplus3]

I think this is the study about the center rear being safest... http://www.buffalo.edu/news/fast-execute.cgi/article-page.html?article=80260009

But still, being properly restrained, using the rule of thumb that Ulrike mentioned, is very, very safe in any back seat position :thumbsup: