Question RF Infant Seat safe in front seat of crew cab?

We have a GMC R3500 Crew Cab with full bench seats front and back and no airbags. Is there ANY difference in safety between putting our 4-month-old in her Graco SafeSeat in the middle of the front seat, versus having her in the middle of the back seat? We are first-time parents, and we honestly aren't sure. Please help us if you can! Thank you!

Regardless of airbags, kids are safer in the back seat as long as you can get a good install.

Some trucks also prohibit installing carseats in the center front seat. I would just put her in the back.

And some state laws prohibit putting kids in the front seat.

Thank you all for your help! Our girl is now nestled safely in the BACK seat of our truck!

Pixels said:

Regardless of airbags, kids are safer in the back seat as long as you can get a good install.

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I don't mean this to be rude, just curious: but what about Sweden and their front-seat car seats? Is it only Swedish cars that are designed for kids in the front? I think it was Håkan (carseat.se) that said car manufacturers know there will *always* be at least one person in the front seat (driver), and that there's a large crumple-zone built into the front.

Every study ever done has shown that kids are significantly safer in the back seat. All kids should remain in the back seat until they are old enough to drive, according to crash statistics.

Sweden is not North America. They have different vehicles, primarily a much newer fleet of vehicles. Their vehicles have different safety standards than ours do.

Yes, there is a crumple zone in front. But it isn't always enough. When there is intrusion, it is most likely to happen in the front. The farther you are from the point of impact, the better off you are. Front vs back doesn't matter for side impacts, so really we're only looking at frontal vs rear impacts. Frontal impacts are both much more common and much more severe than rear impacts.

I've driven with my DD in the "front" seat of a moving truck (no back seat, obviously). There was no airbag to worry about. She was riding in a Radian, one of the lowest profile seats available. She still significantly interfered with my view out the side window and to the side view mirror on that side, and I moved her out of that truck ASAP. So that's another consideration when you're talking about a child in a car seat in front, especially a rear facing seat. The seat likely blocks the driver's view, or interferes with the driver's ability to comfortably reach the controls, or both.