Question for Techs: Headrests! Necessary?

macasa

New member
Just wondering about headrests. Several of the older vehicles I have looked at to purchase recently just have bench seating in the back. No headrests. I assume this is not a safe seating position for a person, but ok for car seats of course and HBB that allow for no headrest.

What is the official word on this?
 
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LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
Correct. People need head support up to the top of their ears. As long as a car seat/high back booster seat doesn't require a headrest/high seatback behind it, those are fine to use. Unfortunately a lot of older vehicles weren't great about headrests, and many new vehicles don't have them in every position.
 

macasa

New member
Great. Thank you. My son is 57 lbs and 48.5 inches tall. He is 6 years old. He is in a Britax Parkway SGL. The vehicle we are getting is a 2001 Cherokee with a bench backseat.

Does that sound like it will work?
 

lgenne

New member
How long do you plan to keep the vehicle? He'll outgrow the tallest high back boosters (currently) available in a few years; then what?

It sounds fine for now.
 

macasa

New member
How long do you plan to keep the vehicle? He'll outgrow the tallest high back boosters (currently) available in a few years; then what?

It sounds fine for now.

Yes, that's exactly what I told my husband. After he outgrows the HBB he won't be able to ride in the Jeep. We've been trying to look for replacement seats with headrests online but they don't seem to be readily available.
 

aeormsby

New member
Also keep an eye on how high the seatbelt is coming out of the side (how high the retractor is). We have a 2004 Dodge Dakota truck and it has a slightly raised back for a headrest in the back seat. DD is 10.5 and still fits in our Frontier 80 as a booster but she's starting to get close to the limits for how high the headrest can go (it's getting close to the ceiling of the vehicle) and how high the belt guide is in relation to the retractor. I think we're good for the couple more years we plan on having the vehicle.
 

DebOberg

New member
Unfortunately you're right and only passengers in HBBs (or harnessed seats) can ride in that type of seat. After that you basically have a 2-seater!
 

tribord

New member
Can a Dione radian be installed FF with lap belt only and no vehicle head rest?

The lap belt will be fine, but Diono recommends head support behind the child in a Radian:
http://www.car-seat.org/showpost.php?p=2917167&postcount=15

Depending on the height of your child no headrests may not be an issue for you (yet) as long as the bench goes up to the tops of their ears, but it is something that we have run into in our vehicles with our Radians as our children have gotten taller.

The other important thing is that you will want to make sure the forward-facing seat is top-tethered, regardless of if it is installed with a seat belt or LATCH.
 

MamaChirpy

New member
Also keep an eye on how high the seatbelt is coming out of the side (how high the retractor is). We have a 2004 Dodge Dakota truck and it has a slightly raised back for a headrest in the back seat. DD is 10.5 and still fits in our Frontier 80 as a booster but she's starting to get close to the limits for how high the headrest can go (it's getting close to the ceiling of the vehicle) and how high the belt guide is in relation to the retractor. I think we're good for the couple more years we plan on having the vehicle.



Can you give me a reference for this or more info? Is there a general rule of thumb to follow? I've been looking for information on this!


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