Infant carseat in middle or end seats

What is safer for my 6m daughter? Placing her seat in a 2003 Ford Explorer w/latch restraints on the end seat (their is no latch restraint in the middle seat). Or, in a 95 Saab Sedan in the middle seat.
My husband thinks that she is safer in the Explorer on the end seat with side airbags then she would be in the middle seat in a smaller sedan car (saab). I disagree. Any advice or expetise is appreciated.

Thanks!

The 2003 and newer Explorers are much improved for safety, and probably among the safest truck-based SUVs. The wider track, independent rear suspension, stability control (optional) and safety canopy side curtain airbags (optional) are all great improvements from earlier models. They have also received very good crash test scores.

I do not have much information on crash test ratings for a 1995 Saab sedan. Even so, a child in a properly used rear-facing carseat is going to be VERY safe in the back seat of most vehicles. Rear-facing child seats with a 5-point harness provide excellent safety by themselves, in both frontal and side impacts. Installed correctly, a child in a rear-facing seat may even survive crashes that other passengers would not.

I'd say either vehicle would be a very safe for your daughter, with very low risks overall. For other passengers, the new Explorer is probably a safer choice, especially if you have the optional Safety Canopy and Advancetrac stability control. Just a few years ago, I would have probably recommended most sedans over an outboard seating position in almost any SUV model.

As a side note, keep in mind that LATCH does not necessarily improve the safety of a child restraint, though it may make it easier to install. If a seatbelt installation results in a good fit, it is just as safe as LATCH.

Finally, Ford does allow center LATCH installation in some of its vehicles, using the inside anchors fro the end seats. Please double check your owner's manual to see if the center seat is a designated LATCH seating position.

I am planning a trip soon with 3 passengers int he back seat. I would like to put the 6 year old with high back booster in the back center...but have no shoulder harness there. Any suggestions. This is in a Toyoto Tacoma Crewcab.

How much does the 6 year old weigh? You cannot use a high backed booster without a shoulder belt, but there may be a few other options.

Safety Canopy

Hi Darren, this is my first time here but I saw your comment about Ford's safety canopy so wanted to ask you a quick question. We are planning on purchasing a new Escape this weekend and we want the safety canopy included. My question is, is this still safe for an infant in the rear outboard position? Since front airbags are so dangerous for kids it made me start to wonder. Thanks in advance.

Amy

The industry consensus is that current side impact airbags do not pose a risk to properly restrained passengers, children or adults. In fact, they may even provide a safety benefit to children properly restrained in a CRS. While some early side airbags for the torso may have been more aggressive, current designs from almost all major manufacturers in the USA do conform to a broad set of guidelines that includes testing with out of position occupants. This also includes children in some pretty extreme seating positions. Based on presentations being given this week at the Lifesavers Conference, there are still no reports of any fatalities or serious injuries to children from side impact airbags, including even the earliest designs. There have been some reports of minor injuries (scratches, bruises, etc.), though one might wonder what injuries would have resulted had there been no side airbag present.

Side impacts are extremely dangerous, since there is very little crush space provided by the vehicle. IIHS studies have shown significant benefits to adults from side impact airbags that provide head protection. I would prefer to have active side curtain airbags for my children, unless the vehicle owner's manual or child restraint owner's manual has a specific warning prohibiting children from being seating next to a side impact airbag.


Also:

http://www.car-safety.org/faq.html#Q61

We also have a Ford Explorer and have the infant seat in the center of the back seat restrained by the lap belt. We took a car seat safety course and the instructor said that she actually preferred using a lap belt over LATCH if one was available. As was stated, the Explorer is one of the safest SUV's out there. And the safest spot is in the center position of the back seat (middle if you have 3rd row).