So I wish I had talked to this lady!

Over Easter we spent it visiting my sister in Lethbridge, and traveling as a group of nine. Oldest is turning fourteen right away, and anticipating getting her learners license. My sister's husband to be, his ex wife told her that you have to be over 170 pounds to ride in the front seat of a car, and if you don't weigh that much, that you legally have to be in the back. I want to know if there is any truth behind this, or what the reasoning behind this may be. Jess is very tall 5'5", but only weighs somewhere around 80 pounds.

What?

huh? Many adults never reach 170 pounds. That's ridiculous.

I know an awful lot of adults that would not be able to ride in the front seat legally then. I can't say I know for sure, but I highly doubt it is true.

Ok, well, what I mean is... what?

170lbs would mean that I can't ride in the front seat, but in any case thinking of a weight limit would be bizarre- the issue with front seats and airbags is upper body height (and distance from the airbag- the further the better).

There is no law in Alberta requiring a certain size or weight to sit in the front seat.

5'5" isn't all that tall for a 14 year old girl (75th percentile), but 80lbs is dreadfully thin at that height.

We've talked this to death in the forums. Some provinces do have laws (age 12) and others have none.. but ultimately, you need to be a physically developed adult to ride in front of an airbag. When vehicle manufacturers design vehicle protection systems, most are designed to protect adult passengers. In many cases, from a 5th percentile adult female up to a large adult male. The 5th percentile Hybrid III dummy is 108lbs, 59.1", and has a seated height of 31". I suspect that if you look for data, you'll find that the 5th percentile adult female dummy doesn't do as well as the other adult dummies in crash tests, although primarily when seated in the driver's seating position due to their decreased distance from the dash necessitated by shorter legs and arms.

Since many 14 year olds are not yet physically developed adults (puberty has not yet completed), they should not yet be driving in front of a single-stage airbag..or potentially any airbag. So while I might be comfortable with a 14 year old in the front passenger seat, and I'm definitely comfortable with any post-pubecent adult in the passenger seat at 5'+ and sitting far back from the dash, I'm not so sure I'm comfortable with either driving in front of a single-stage airbag.

Can you imagine if you had to be 170lbs to sit in front of the airbag? Most of the Canadian population would not be able to drive... considering there's MORE danger in the driver's seat than in the passenger seat.


-N.

170lbs? I'd love to know where that number came from...

There is no weight minimum here in NFLD, I think that would be slightly too ethically touchy to enforce. My family thinks I'm a nut bar because as soon as I climb into the passenger's seat the first thing I do is send the seat flying basically into the trunk I put it back so far.. the dash isn't something I want imprinted on my forehead thanks lol
I find young teens seem to place a lot of items between themselves and the dash/air bag when in the front and lean waay too close, which is a no no. New training stage after booster seat, passenger seat?

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There is no weight limit in Alberta. There isn't even any law preventing someone from putting their 40lb kid in the front seat provided they wear the seatbelt properly.

I'm just shy of 5'8" and I don't weigh 170lbs. And I can easily drive a safe distance away from the steering wheel... Sounds like somebody just making things up and pulling a number out of thin air.

Qarin said:

5'5" isn't all that tall for a 14 year old girl (75th percentile), but 80lbs is dreadfully thin at that height.

Click to expand...

For a small framed pre-developed girl, this may be a perfectly fine weight for the height. When I started high school I was 13 years old, 5'5" tall and weighted just short of 70#. I was skinny, but not unhealthy in any way, didn't look sick, had plenty of energy, was an athlete. the next summer I got boobs and hips practically overnight and was 103# until I got pregnant with my oldest. At 180# (still 5'5") I wear a size 10. I just don't have very thick bones to drape my fat over :shrug-shoulders:

I was 5'5" tall in grade five. I weighed around the same. Jess eats and eats, she eats as much as I do, but can't seem to gain weight.

I am 5' 3" (on a tall day ) and don't weigh 170...does this mean I can't drive my kids around? LOL what some people say

Uh my DH is 6ft and only weights 150 LOL