Question car seat safety tips in developing countries

I know this might be an unusual question, but I live in Thailand where rear seat belts are not mandatory. So if you don't own your own car, you have to take taxis where you don't have the option to buckle yourself, your child, or your car seat securely.

I'm researching an article to try to give parents guidelines to make the best available choice (I understand that the best choice is to have your child in a car seat, properly secured in the back seat and there is no subsitute for this - but this choice is simply not available to many parents here).

Does anyone have any idea about the following?

1) For babies and toddlers, do the below options (a) provide any additional protection at all or (b) make matters worse (when compared to being held on the parent's lap on the backseat of a car with no seatbelt)
-- In unsecured infant capsule or child car seat in the back seat
-- Attached to parent in a front baby carrier or sling in the back seat
-- In a rear-facing infant seat secured in the front seat (infant)
-- In a forward-facing capsule secured in the front seat

2) For small or older children, is it safer to ride seatbelted in the front seat of a car, or in the back seat with no seatbelt? From what age/height is it safer to ride in the front seat?

If anyone has any pointers, I'd really appreciate it! Its very hard to find this info.

If seat belts are available in the front seat and not available in the rear, a properly installed restraint in the front is by far you safest option, as long as it is not a rear facing seat in a position with air bags. A forward facing or booster seat with an airbag is not ideal, however it is the best option if no other seat belts are available.

An unsecured harnessed restraint may provide more protection for the child compared to being completely unrestrained, however this also poses a huge risk for the driver and other passengers of the vehicle as this is a large projectile, and in some situations may put the child at more risk of injury.

A child 'attached' to a parent creates a huge risk of injury to both the child and the parent.

If there is a way to restrain the seat in the front seat and no where else, that is the only safe option available :twocents: .

And if you are travelling with 2 kids, one an infant, I would probably choose to harness/booster the older child in front and place the infant in an infant bucket seat in the footwell behind them. This would keep it at least marginally contained except in a rollover and hopefully keep the child from slamming into anything as badly as without a harness and padded seat shell and maybe the padded seat back. I have heard others say that if given no other choice, they and their kids once the front was used would be sitting in the foot well in the rear as opposed to the seat. No distance to travel before you hit the seat, so less additional impact forces. Not sure if this covers all eventualities (door intrusion, seat failure, etc) but it sounds reasonable. Smaller kids at least should be happy to camp out in the footwell, even if adults may resist the idea for themselves.

I would always try to put the adult passenger in the rear behind the driver vs behind the child because the force of the adult slamming forward poses an additional risk to even a belted passenger in front.