Who goes in the front seat?

Keeanh · Jun 29, 2010

Let's say you have one adult driver and enough children (under age 13) to fill all the other seats. Who goes in the front? There are no laws or manufacturer requirements about age/size for front seat that I can find. Just the standard 12yo recommendation. Is an adult-belted 12-yo always the best choice? What if I don't have the 12-yo with me?

Pick between:
- adult seatbelt user
- booster
- ff harness
- rf (obviously only in non-airbag vehicles!!)

I'd like 1st & 2nd choices in these 3 scenerios, if possible

:

1. No airbag
2. Airbag that can't be deactivated
3. Airbag that can be deactivated (but I still wouldn't put an RF seat in front of it!)

I usually put the oldest in the front because of the 12yo recommendation. But then I wonder if I should put the safest one in the front, ie. RF, FF, booster (in that order) before an adult-belted 12yo.

Thoughts??

libranbutterfly · Jun 29, 2010

Can you tether a FF seat in that position? I would probably rather see the FF harnessed child in the front, with the seat pushed back as far as possible, but I would definitely want the seat tethered. If the seat cant be tethered, then I would put the RF seat in the front in situation 1, and the adult seatbelt rider otherwise.

Evolily · Jun 29, 2010

Assuming this is the US, all children are small enough to need seats, and there aren't laws against it...

Generally speaking, my personal decision would probably be...

No airbag, I would put the oldest rear facing child
Airbag, I would put the oldest forward facing child (harnessed) assuming the seat did well without a tether for head excursion or had a tether, if neither was true I'd put the oldest boostered child up there.
Deactivated air bag would depend on how the airbag was deactivated.

If I was advising someone who wasn't particularly car seat conscious, I would advise them to put their oldest boostered child in the front, simply because I wouldn't know how they would interpret my advice or how well they would install/use the seat. I am, generally speaking, uncomfortable putting any child in the front seat.

If a child passed the 5 step test and did not need a booster in the front seat, I'd probably have that child sit in front.

Keeanh · Jun 29, 2010

CelticLabyrinth said:
Assuming this is the US, all children are small enough to need seats, and there aren't laws against it...

Generally speaking, my personal decision would probably be...

No airbag, I would put the oldest rear facing child
Airbag, I would put the oldest forward facing child (harnessed) assuming the seat did well without a tether for head excursion or had a tether, if neither was true I'd put the oldest boostered child up there.
Deactivated air bag would depend on how the airbag was deactivated.

If I was advising someone who wasn't particularly car seat conscious, I would advise them to put their oldest boostered child in the front, simply because I wouldn't know how they would interpret my advice or how well they would install/use the seat. I am, generally speaking, uncomfortable putting any child in the front seat.

If a child passed the 5 step test and did not need a booster in the front seat, I'd probably have that child sit in front.

Thanks! I'm actually in Canada, but that's neither here nor there because I would tether anyways. My 2 oldest have passed the 5-step test in our vehicles for a while now. They are 10 & 12 and are the same size. About 100 lbs and 5'3".

Your advice sounds pretty much like what I was thinking. Why would you pick an adult-belted older child over a child with a seat? That was my sticking point, so I'm just wondering what your logic is.

They sit in the back if possible, but sometimes there just aren't enough seats in the back

.

Keeanh · Jun 29, 2010

libranbutterfly said:
Can you tether a FF seat in that position? I would probably rather see the FF harnessed child in the front, with the seat pushed back as far as possible, but I would definitely want the seat tethered. If the seat cant be tethered, then I would put the RF seat in the front in situation 1, and the adult seatbelt rider otherwise.

Thanks! Yes, I can tether, at least in the airbag vehicles. Have to check the manual for the older car.

Evolily · Jun 29, 2010

Keeanh said:
Why would you pick an adult-belted older child over a child with a seat? That was my sticking point, so I'm just wondering what your logic is.

Because if they past the 5 step test they're probably in or near puberty (somewhere between 10 and 14). More mature bodies tend to handle accidents better than immature bodies. Just a gut feeling, not necessarily logical.

Maedze · Jun 29, 2010

Evidence actually shows that children under FIFTEEN, not thirteen are still at serious risk from the airbag.

If there is no airbag, hands down the answer is a rear facing child restraint.

If there is an airbag, and a top tether, I would definitely choose a forward facing harnessed seat.

I actually have a top tether for the front seat in my minivan. I can only use Britax seats in that seating postion, because of the height of the front passenger seat I need the versa-tether to have any hope of reaching it

If there is no top tether, my answer would change depending on the age range of child passengers, and the presence of head rests, lap belts, etc. in the rear seating positions.

Who goes in the front seat?

Keeanh

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libranbutterfly

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Evolily

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Keeanh

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Keeanh

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Evolily

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Maedze

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