head rests

The other head rest thread made me think of something. What do you do, short of buying a new vehicle, if you have a vehicle with low seat backs in all rear seating positions. Imagining that a child outgrows most high back boosters at/ around age 8- 10, this would mean that anyone older than this age would be left with no choice other than going without a head restraint. (Assuming that the front seat is taken.) Assuming this is the case, would the back seat still be safer in this instance for say, a 8-9 yo in a backless booster? Also, are adults not as big of a worry because their spines are more developed?

AFAIK, everyone is at equal risk without adequate head support, at least to the tops of the ears. Adults are at no less risk.

What I recommend for parents who drive vehicles with lowback vehicle seats is to keep kids in the tallest highback boosters possible (generally the Britax boosters, and now I think the Recaro Vivo), for as long as possible. My little sister still fit the Britax boosters at 5 feet tall, 105 pounds and 12 years old.

I would never recommend a backless booster for a seating position without adequate head support.

And basically, yes, once the child(ren) have outgrown the tallest highback boosters on the market, there's really no safe solution other than purchasing a different vehicle with adequate head support. This doesn't have to mean an expensive, new vehicle. My 1991 Honda Accord had tall enough rear outboard molded headrest "bumps" that most adults had enough head support back there. My 1994 Mazda MPV had adjustable headrests in four of the five rear seating positions. Neither vehicle cost more than about $2000. I know that can be a big financial stretch, because it was for us--but usually a family will have time to prepare for the purchase, if they know ahead-of-time that as soon as highback boosters are outgrown a different vehicle will be necessary.

:yeahthat:
Even without a head restraint, the back seat is safer than the front. Unfortunately, it really does eventually come down to replacing your car. Some vehicles are better than others as far as head rests in older vehicles.

Out of necessity, we are purchasing an old used vehicle with no rear head rests. Out daughter is really young, so we know that it will be replaced well before she is out of a booster seat (actually will probably be replaced in 18-24 months).

I will not allow anyone to ride in the rear seating positions without headrests while I am driving.

It might be an option in some vehicles to replace the backseat with one from a newer model that has headrests. Some vehicles haven't changed designs in 10+ years and so long as the manufacturer says it's okay, you can get an identical seat (with headrests, of course) installed. A benchseat from a junk yard, for example, may only cost a couple hundred dollars.

Niea said:

It might be an option in some vehicles to replace the backseat with one from a newer model that has headrests. Some vehicles haven't changed designs in 10+ years and so long as the manufacturer says it's okay, you can get an identical seat (with headrests, of course) installed. A benchseat from a junk yard, for example, may only cost a couple hundred dollars.

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that's a good idea, but probably only applies to a handful of cars. i think few cars that didn't come with headrests would have had them added in later years of the same design generation. still, it's something to look into.