Sitting in the front seat

How old do you need to be to sit in the front passenger seat?

Old enough to drive.

skaterbabscpst said:

Old enough to drive.

Click to expand...

Love it!


OP, the newest recommendation is 15 years.

Every passenger is up to 86% safer in the backseat. I always sit in the back when I have the option. No kid under driving age ever sits in my front seat unless it is absolutely unavoidable.

I know- I am honestly thinking of riding in the back when I ride with my mom when we go places. She would just pretty much think I have lost it. LOL. But seriously.

I can't remember the exact number right now, but sitting in the front seat drops your level of protection by about 40%. A great way to really understand how much of a drop in protection that is, is to think about it this way: how would you feel if someone told you they were taking 40% of your monthly income? That's a pretty drastic amount, isn't it? Why would we want our children's protection to drop that much?

The vast majority of crashes are frontal, or frontal-offset. We want our kids to sit as far away from the point of impact as possible, which is in the backseat. Rear impacts are not very common and are usually at much lower speeds than frontal crashes, so being afraid of a rear-end collision is not reason to sit up front.

All kids who don't pass the five step test should also be in boosters in the backseat. Generally kids need to be at least 4 feet 9 inches tall to not need a booster, but it's very dependent on the vehicle seats and seatbelts, too. If the vehicle has lowback seats with no headrests, the child needs a highback booster. There needs to be head support at least to the tips of the child's ears.

My little sister is turning 14 in a few months, she's about 5 feet 2 inches tall and about 115 pounds. I still make her sit in the back. Now that I've educated her on how much safer she is in the back, she isn't upset about it at all.

HTH some!

Sorry, double post.

Jenny, I think the curriculum states either 41% or 43% but more than 1 of the original NYS tech/instructors quoted the recent research from Univ. of Buffalo which shows the backseat is up to 86% safer than the front -- I'm interested in finding out more details about this difference in data, but nontheless the backseat is clearly safer than the front: especially for everyone under driving age.... State laws vary of course, but physics does not & legislation is far too often pathetically behind safest practice (I know *my* passengers all deserve the best & if every driver on the road felt the same then we'd have much fewer kids filling up Pediatric Nursing Homes).

I believe I have read that 12 or 13 is the bare minimum and the law in many places because that is the age at which the skeleton reachs it's adult strength. I personally sit in back whenever I can.

In the newest CPS (Child Passenger Safety) Curriculum it says 13 years and younger need to be in the rear seat if there is one available.

In my car however, all passengers that are under 16 have to ride in the back if there is a spot available.

So basically what Skaterbabs said "When they are old enough to drive" :thumbsup:

Regardless of age, everyone is safer in the rearseat...