Adult passenger safety & comfort while napping -- any hints or tricks?

MJL · Apr 20, 2010

Hi, I have no idea where a good place would be to ask this, but you all are such a smart bunch of people I figured you would be a good place to start

When an adult passenger is napping in the car, either front or back seat, do you have any safety & comfort tips & tricks? I have heard that it is not a good idea for a front seat passenger to completely recline the seat, as the seat belt system does not work correctly when the passenger is laying down. Is this true? If so, how far back of a recline would still be safe?

I usually use one of those neck travel pillows, and it helps some. Just wondered if anyone else had better ideas.

TIA.

Maedze · Apr 20, 2010

Yes, that is true. If you recline the seat, the passenger will 'submarine' out from underneath the lap belt in a collision. For a front end collision, this can cause severe femur fractures which may even sever the femoral artery. This can cause catastrophic blood loss that is fatal within a few minutes.

As a general rule, the shoulder belt should rest firmly on your chest and shoulder and come from at or behind your shoulder. If the belt is coming from in front of your shoulder, or isn't resting firmly on your shoulder, your seat is reclined too much.

Before snoozing, consider pulling your seatbelt tight and then 'locking' it at the retractor, as you would do with a car seat. That will hold your body in place. Focus on tipping your head back rather than to the side, to keep your torso where it belongs.

Never rest your feet up on the dashboard or on the window.

Nisha · Apr 20, 2010

I am a major car sleeper and used to have terrible car sleeping habits! But since becoming a car seat technecian and more car safety concious, I've done some serious re-adjusting on my car sleeping!

Never recline the seat so far that the seatbelt doesn't sit on your shoulder / torso. I know it sounds like not reclining at all, but most cars I've ridden in I can recline the seat enough to sleep without messing up the seatbelt. I usually fold up a pillow between my shoulder & the door / seatbelt (without interfeering with the seatbelt) to rest my head on while still keeping my torso straight. I don't have a neck pillow but I suppose it would be REALLY handy to keep in a safe position while sleeping!

babyherder · Apr 20, 2010

I generally sleep in the back. The best thing I have found is to lean towards the door/seat belt. That way, when I flop (its inevitable that I do cause I sleep like I'm drugged in the car. I've tried to stay awake and cannot) I stay in the seat belt. The shoulder portion is not positioned perfectly but I am in the belt, not falling out.

vonfirmath · Apr 20, 2010

Maedze said:
Yes, that is true. If you recline the seat, the passenger will 'submarine' out from underneath the lap belt in a collision. For a front end collision, this can cause severe femur fractures which may even sever the femoral artery. This can cause catastrophic blood loss that is fatal within a few minutes.

Just before Christmas there was a fellow that had his seat back, reclined, napping while the other guy drove when they got into an accident. He submarined out from underneath the seatbelt and died.

Parapalegic story: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/10/earlyshow/main1195540.shtml
September 2000 accident: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2001-01-29/features/0101290041_1_seat-belt-dear-abby-cap -- website created because of this accident: http://www.snowangel.org/

ca2003 · Apr 22, 2010

I do some of the same things as the PPs. We have 2 cars (2008 Impala without side air bags :thumbsdown: and a 2000 Buick LeSabre with side airbags actually on sides of the front seats only) In the Impala when I am napping I always lock the seat belt. The buick's seat belts do not lock at the shoulder, only the lap portion locks so I lock those when napping.

I have found that I am able to recline the seat just a tad and the shoulder belt is still touching my shoulder. My BF always tells me to lay all the way back but I tell him that isn't safe :thumbsup:

Nisha said:
I am a major car sleeper and used to have terrible car sleeping habits! But since becoming a car seat technecian and more car safety concious, I've done some serious re-adjusting on my car sleeping!

Never recline the seat so far that the seatbelt doesn't sit on your shoulder / torso. I know it sounds like not reclining at all, but most cars I've ridden in I can recline the seat enough to sleep without messing up the seatbelt. I usually fold up a pillow between my shoulder & the door / seatbelt (without interfeering with the seatbelt) to rest my head on while still keeping my torso straight. I don't have a neck pillow but I suppose it would be REALLY handy to keep in a safe position while sleeping!

I have used pillows/blankets between my shoulder and the door before in the Impala. Would this be a bad idea to do in the Buick because of the side air bags on the sides of the front seats? We are going to be taking a trip in May and will probably be in the Buick and I will probably be sleeping at some point and don't want to do that if it is unsafe.

I am good at sleeping with my head back with the seat straight up or when in the back seat because I took the train all through college and was an expert sleeping on it that way.

Jeanum · Apr 23, 2010

A 2008 Impala has standard side curtain airbags, though - the Impala has had them as standard equipment since the 2006 model year.

I wouldn't use anything that would potentially interfere with the side curtain airbag's ability to fully drop down from above the windows in a crash, nor use extra pillows/blankets tucked around the side in a vehicle with seat mounted side airbags. :twocents:

mimieliza · Apr 23, 2010

I use a neck pillow and my regular bed pillow. I've been able to get pretty comfy. I don't have side impact airbags to worry about, though.

The only neck pillow I've been happy with is the Bucky pillow I bought for air travel.

ca2003 · Apr 23, 2010

Jeanum said:
A 2008 Impala has standard side curtain airbags, though - the Impala has had them as standard equipment since the 2006 model year. I wouldn't use anything that would potentially interfere with the side curtain airbag's ability to fully drop down from above the windows in a crash, nor use extra pillows/blankets tucked around the side in a vehicle with seat mounted side airbags. :twocents:

Thanks for your input! Not to go off topic but I am about 99% positive that our Impala doesn't have side curtain airbags

. I was not paying as much attention to safety as I should have when we got it, I know some that we test drove did and after we got ours and I looked through the manual I realized it didn't :thumbsdown: I just looked on informed for life as well and it shows it with and without side curtain airbags.

I will make sure not to put anything between the seat mounted side airbags. I remember reading a something, on here I believe, where someone had side airbags (I think side mounted) and seat covers on the seats and they did not go off correctly and she was injured as a result.

Jeanum · Apr 24, 2010

That's so weird about your '08 Impala because the documentation and features I've seen for Impalas indicate side curtain airbags became standard equipment ever since the 2006 model year (which was the latest redesign for the Impala model). Here's info. on the 2008 model at cars.com: http://www.cars.com/chevrolet/impala/2008/ and here's the info. indicating side curtain airbags became standard in the 2006 model year: http://www.cars.com/chevrolet/impala/2006/ Not side torso airbags mounted on the front seats, but the side curtain airbags that drop down from above the window in a side impact crash - maybe we're confusing each other about what type of airbags you say your Impala is lacking.

Is yours a rental fleet version perhaps? Although even the rental version 2007 Impala I drove on vacation in 2007 had the standard curtain airbags.

ca2003 · Apr 24, 2010

Thanks for the links with the info on the Impala. I was referring to the same ones as you, the ones above the window that drop down in a crash.

I did some more research into it and found a 2008 manual online. It states what I thought and my car does not have side airbags

I wish you were correct.

This is what I found:
Your vehicle has the following airbags:
• A frontal airbag for the driver.
• A frontal airbag for the right front passenger
Your vehicle may also have the following airbags:
• A roof-rail airbag for the driver and the passenger seated directly behind the driver.
• A roof-rail airbag for the right front passenger andthe passenger seated directly behind the right front passenger.
All of the airbags in your vehicle will have the wordAIRBAG embossed in the trim or on an attached label near the deployment opening.

Where the airbags should be it does not say "airbag"

I remember when we test drove seeing some that said air bag and I think I just assumed the one we were getting would have them. I definitely should have paid more attention back then

Jeanum · Apr 24, 2010

Awww, bummer. Unless you have the side curtain airbag badges/indicators above the windows and/or on the windshield pillars and side pillars, then that would be a sign that they're not in your car. It's verging on false advertising for the specs to says the curtain airbags are standard in 2006-newer Impalas.

I swear I saw the same info. on Chevrolet's own website for the specs back in 2006 and for newer model years - we were shopping Impalas among other cars back in 2007 to replace my DH's car. The Impala was on our short list of possibilities because of the side curtain airbags, and because it had adequate headroom for DH who is very long torsoed (he tries cars on for size more than he test drives them when we shop for cars, lol).

Adult passenger safety & comfort while napping -- any hints or tricks?

MJL

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Maedze

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Nisha

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babyherder

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ca2003

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Jeanum

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mimieliza

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