singingpond
New member
Just something that occurred to me, and I wondered what others thought...
We always read, here, that the most-protected child goes in the least protected spot, if possible. In view of the recent thread on the main board:
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=27576
it appears that being in a harnessed seat may have clear advantages over being restrained by the vehicle seatbelt.
So, now to my question. When everyone in my family is in the car, all seating positions are full. I'll assume that I am driving, so my position is fixed there. I'll also assume that DH is at least as valuable as the kids (perhaps a heretical assumption on this board ). Oldest child (age 6) sits in a HBB in the back seat (remember, it's 3 across, so a huge harnessed seat won't fit back there), but could fit in a harnessed seat (e.g. a Regent, which we don't currently own) if he sat in the front seat.
So, shouldn't DH (as a less protected person, restrained only by a vehicle seatbelt) move to the safer spot in the back seat, while oldest child (more protected in a 5-point harness, with some SIP) moves to the less protected spot in the front of the car?
Probably a hypothetical for us, since I wouldn't want to move a Regent in and out of the car frequently, but I thought it might be an interesting question (at least in this self-selected community of carseat fanatics, LOL). Also, the comparative safety of adult passengers usually seems to get left out of the equation....
On a less hypothetical note, do those of you with extra seating positions actually leave the front passenger seat empty, and put other adults in the family into the back seat(s), for safety reasons?
Katrin
We always read, here, that the most-protected child goes in the least protected spot, if possible. In view of the recent thread on the main board:
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=27576
it appears that being in a harnessed seat may have clear advantages over being restrained by the vehicle seatbelt.
So, now to my question. When everyone in my family is in the car, all seating positions are full. I'll assume that I am driving, so my position is fixed there. I'll also assume that DH is at least as valuable as the kids (perhaps a heretical assumption on this board ). Oldest child (age 6) sits in a HBB in the back seat (remember, it's 3 across, so a huge harnessed seat won't fit back there), but could fit in a harnessed seat (e.g. a Regent, which we don't currently own) if he sat in the front seat.
So, shouldn't DH (as a less protected person, restrained only by a vehicle seatbelt) move to the safer spot in the back seat, while oldest child (more protected in a 5-point harness, with some SIP) moves to the less protected spot in the front of the car?
Probably a hypothetical for us, since I wouldn't want to move a Regent in and out of the car frequently, but I thought it might be an interesting question (at least in this self-selected community of carseat fanatics, LOL). Also, the comparative safety of adult passengers usually seems to get left out of the equation....
On a less hypothetical note, do those of you with extra seating positions actually leave the front passenger seat empty, and put other adults in the family into the back seat(s), for safety reasons?
Katrin