Question about car seats and trucks

I have a question about how safe it is to have a child in a compact truck. It is a small one with no back seat. I have a True fit and it says not approved for use in compact trucks. So I explained to my IL's that they couldn't take my son in their vehicle and they insist that they can get another car seat that would work. My problem is, that if it isn't really that safe no matter what car seat you use, I would rather not have him go in a vehicle with them, as there is really no need for them to drive anywhere with him anyways. I just want to do my research so if they push for it, I know about the safety of it. I should mention that my child is 23lbs and 31 inches tall and under a year, so he is still RF and I plan on continuing that until he is at least 2. Thank you!

Good for you for wanting to keep your child rear-facing beyond a year.

First, what year is the truck? Are there airbags? If so, can they be disabled PHYSICALLY (with a key/switch--not just a sensor)?

A rear-facing seat must never, ever, ever be placed in front of an active airbag.

If the airbags are disabled/non-existant, rear-facing is preferable to forward-facing. Although the back seat is significantly safer than the front seat, it's not necessary UNsafe if there are no other options. It wouldn't be my ideal, and it sounds like it isn't yours, either.

If your child is going to ride in the truck, check the vehicle manual to make sure there aren't any prohibitions on installing cat seats.

Also, if there's a driver's airbag, that might impede on a car seat installed in the center, so keep that in mind. If there's a center position with just a lap-belt, that's not safe for an adult, so it can become a catch-22 if you have two adults and a rear-facing kid.

Is there a tether anchor for a foward-facing kid? If not, that would be a deal-breaker for me (once your child reaches that point). A forward-facing seat CAN be installed without the anchor, but it's not recommended.

Sorry for any typos or disjointedness--I'm posting from my iPod and can't really edit.

Doh! I just saw you posted this in the Canadian/International section. If you're in Canada, then you DO have to have a tether for a forward-facing seat. I think the rest of my advice would still apply.

LISmama810 said:

Is there a tether anchor for a foward-facing kid? If not, that would be a deal-breaker for me (once your child reaches that point). A forward-facing seat CAN be installed without the anchor, but it's not recommended.

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As this is in the Canadian/International forum, I'm going to assume the OP is in Canada & therefore any forward-facing seat must be tethered.

I completely agree with LISmama that the situation would not be my ideal if it is not necessary.

LISmama810 said:

Doh! I just saw you posted this in the Canadian/International section. If you're in Canada, then you DO have to have a tether for a forward-facing seat. I think the rest of my advice would still apply.

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We cross-posted...thanks for adding this

It is a 2009, and a GM, not sure of exact make or model. My Father in law is under the impression because there is the latch system in the truck it must be safe. I don't really believe this. I don't want him to ride with them, because I don't believe it is safe enough, but didn't want to tell them this if I didn't have good information to go on.

Thanks for the opinions! It is always very helpful here!

Now because I am not registered I am going to ask another question here. My Sister in Law puts her 6 year old in the front seat in a booster. I thought that this wasn't safe or even legal in Canada? I'm not exactly sure of his height, he is tall, but really skinny. What exactly are the requirements for a child to be in the front seat? I told her today that he had to be in the back and she said somebody told her he was allowed in the front. It just makes me nervous! He is my nephew after all.

You might get some varying opinions on the truck issue, but I can tell you that my son rode RF in a True Fit in our 2-seater Ford Ranger (with the airbag manually disabled) and I had no problem with it. I was uneasy with the idea at first, but once I saw that the vehicle is equipped for car seats and learned that in Sweden it is very common for children to ride RF in the front seat (and they have a much better safety record than we do) I decided to go ahead and it was actually kind of neat to have DH and DS both in front together.

If you check your True Fit manual again you will see that it says not to put the seat in the back seat of a compact truck. Those seats aren't big enough for a car seat and they are way to close to the front seat. The front is fine as long as the air bag is manually disabled with a key or switch.

As for your nephew in the front seat, I don't actually think it is illegal, but it is certainly not recommended. It is recommended that all children sit in the back until they are at least 13. If they have to sit in front, they should be as far away from the airbag as possible, as that is the big danger (aside from the fact that they are just generally safer in back, as is any passenger). I wouldn't trust the automatic airbag sensors (that disable the airbag for smaller passengers) that are in a lot of newer cars.

ETA: As I think someone else mentioned, I would not put a car seat RF in the middle seat of the front of a truck for fear of the driver airbag hitting the seat in a collision.

Does GM make a compact pickup? I thought theirs were all full-sized. :shrug-shoulders:

There are some provinces that have laws against children sitting in the front seat. Most do not. In fact, there are numerous situations where it's safer for a child to sit in the front seat versus the back seat--some pickup trucks, lack of lap/shoulder restraints in the rear, and limited front-back distance in the rear. I have no problem seeing a child in the front passenger seat, so long as they're not rear-facing in front of an active airbag.

All of the marketing about how the back seat is best has done a DIS-service to many Canadian children. In general, the rear is safer... but NOT always. I wouldn't put a young child in the front passenger seat simply to keep me company, however...unless in a vehicle with a significant documented increase in occupant protection in the front cabin.

-Nicole.

unityco said:

Does GM make a compact pickup? I thought theirs were all full-sized. :shrug-shoulders:

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Colorado?

I dunno...