Two car seats in VW Polo. (moved to International)

Hi all

I've recently had to install two car seats for my twins' birth.
I own a 2011 VW Polo, which has two ISOFIX anchors - two sides of the back seat.

Installing one car seat on each side was not an option, as I had to pull the driver's seat (mine) forward, which left me unable to drive because I was glued to the wheel.

As a result, we had to install one car seat on the right side of the back seat (ISOFIX) and one on the passenger seat (seat belt). I of course disabled passenger's airbag.

Having said all of that, I'm still not calm with one of the car seats being installed on passenger's seat;

I queried my installer about installing it at the middle of the back seat, since my Polo has a shoulder seat belt, but he said it wouldn't be a safe installment due to the middle seat not having a "proper" seat base like the sides do, which would cause it not to "sit firmly" on the seat.

Is it really true? Is it safer / better / advised to install a car seat at the front rather then at the middle back seat, due to the middle seat not having a proper base?

I would appreciate any help and direction..

Cheers,
Thanks.

You have not mentioned where you are located, perhaps n Europe, but you have surprisingly received excellent advice. Middle rear is not any safer than using outboard position. Regardless of car installation it's often less firm in the middle rear but the main issue is that kids are buckled in less thoroughly for practical reasons.

Front passenger seat with airbag off is the safest place in the car for a rear facing child. It's also a great place for any forward facing child as long as airbag is off. Kids should never ride in front passenger seat, RF or FF, with an active airbag.

The best installation is to lean against dashboard and have the car ride down the crash forces naturally. As you have noticed the child in the from seat has far better leg space than the rear seat. This is an important factor which greatly improves safety without parets really thinking about it.

A great majority of parents incorrectly turn kids FF years too early since the are worried about leg space for the child. It looks cramped when the little one sits with bent legs. In reality it's almost unheard of for a child to complain about sitting with bent legs.

Another great factor of front seat is also the far better communication with the child which causes less stress and keeps the child calmer. Distraction is also far less in the front seat.

Front passenger seat is used extensively in Sweden, where people are fanatical about car seat safety, and has been since we started keeping kids rear facing in 1965. It's a preferred place for the child regardless of family situation and is highly recommended. Brands such as Britax, Axkid, Maxi Cosi, Besafe, Graco, BMW, Audi, Volvo, VW, Skoda, Fiat, Renault, etc all recommend using front passenger seat with deactivated airbag.

Your current setup is at least as safe as two kids in the rear, likely safer, so please relax and enjoy.

Adventuredad said:

You have not mentioned where you are located, perhaps n Europe, but you have surprisingly received excellent advice. Middle rear is not any safer than using outboard position. Regardless of car installation it's often less firm in the middle rear but the main issue is that kids are buckled in less thoroughly for practical reasons.

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You need a subscription to see it, but the middle is 43% safer, all things being equal. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/121/5/e1342.full

Front passenger seat with airbag off is the safest place in the car for a rear facing child. It's also a great place for any forward facing child as long as airbag is off. Kids should never ride in front passenger seat, RF or FF, with an active airbag.

Click to expand...

Should I bother asking for your links again? You never give them. But someone else showed them to me last year, and I read them. And they came out to "The backseat is safest, but if you need to fit a carseat in the front or separate dueling kids, the front with the airbag off is ok as well." None of them (and these were all EU or Swedish links) said the front was safER.

MiOB, can you get a proper install in the rear center? If so, I'd move your seat that's in the front that's giving you anxiety to the rear middle. If the seat on the side can be installed with the seatbelt I'd do that as well to try to move it over just a bit to give the seat in the middle a little more room.

Make sure that the seat in the middle doesn't infringe on you as a driver.

Wendy

The simple physics of crashes as well as real-world statistical data show that the farther you are from the most common/severe crashes, the safer you are. That gives an edge to a middle back seat, as long as the carseat can be correctly installed there.

That said, newer cars and carseats have far better side impact protection than those from 10-20 years ago used in many studies. Also, the risk of a severe or fatal injury to a child in a correctly installed and used rear-facing carseat is extremely low. So, the benefits of one seating position compared to another probably don't make a significant difference for a properly restrained rear-facing child. For example, if the child's risk in a particular year was 1 in 10 of a fatal injury, 43% safer would be a big deal. If the child's risk is 1 in 10 million, 43% safer is not very meaningful. Plus, I doubt that 43% figure or similar figures from other studies would even apply to properly restrained rear-facing children in cars and carseats made within the last few years.

I agree with Wendy, but I'd have no issues with a correctly installed and used rear-facing seat in the front passenger seat (with airbag disabled of course), if there was not a possibility of correct installation in back. I would be much more concerned for a forward facing child in the front passenger seat, with or without active airbag. Proximity to the dash, pillar and door in frontal and side impacts makes it inherently less safe than the back middle seat in general. Rear-facing mitigates much of the added risk when the airbag is disabled.