Thoughts on the safety of centre vs outboard?

TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
Anyone have thoughts on this?

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-09/chop-htb090905.php and the specific quote I am referring to is this
"Effect of Increased Rear Row Occupancy on Injury to Seat Belt Restrained Children in Side impact Crashes"

Seat belt restrained children aged 4 to 15 who were riding in the rear row of passenger cars reduced their risk of injury by up to 58 percent in side-impact crashes if they were riding with another seat-belted passenger in the rear row. The data suggests that development of a restraint system that limits side-to-side motion would be effective in reducing injury during side-impact crashes.

Initial analyses showed that head injuries were the most frequent injury in all seating positions, with struck-side and center-seated occupants having similar risks of injury and non-struck side occupants at the lowest risk of injury.

The bolded part is what I am referring to. Is this referring ONLY to seatbelted kids? and ONLY if there is more than one passenger in the rear seat? It's sounding to me like the outboard position would be safest since you have a 50% chance of being on the side that isn't hit, whereas in the centre position, injury is the same for the centre seated position as the struck side outboard position (so in a side impact crash the centre position has 100% chance of being on the struck side, theoretically).
 
Last edited:
ADS

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
You know, that leaves me scratching my head, too...:confused: What I would like to know is if that includes ALL types of restrained and unrestrained kids... certainly a kid in a good carseat or booster, or even a kid with a shoulderbelt, would be better off overall... most middle seats have lapbelts among the entire fleet of autos and surely that makes the middle look 'worse'? (Lapbelts providing zero upper body restraint allows the head and torso to fly right into the struck side of the car)
If they could break it down to restraint types in the middle, that would give us the answers we really crave (surely our properly restrained kids are a lot better off than the average lapbelted kid out of a seat too young, KWIM?)
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
To me it sounds like you think, only seatbelted kids. Which means at least four of those nine years aren't restrained properly.

"The data suggests that development of a restraint system that limits side-to-side motion would be effective in reducing injury during side-impact crashes."

Um, yes, they're called harnesses, most commonly found in carseats.

I'd love to see that study redone with kids in Regents and Nautiluses and even boosters with deep wings.

Wendy
 

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Forum statistics

Threads
219,655
Messages
2,196,895
Members
13,530
Latest member
onehitko860

You must read your carseat and vehicle owner’s manual and understand any relevant state laws. These are the rules you must follow to restrain your children safely. All opinions at Car-Seat.Org are those of the individual author for informational purposes only, and do not necessarily reflect any policy or position of Carseat Media LLC. Car-Seat.Org makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. If you are unsure about information provided to you, please visit a local certified technician. Before posting or using our website you must read and agree to our TERMS.

Graco is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Britax is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org! Nuna Baby is a Proud Sponsor of Car-Seat.Org!

Please  Support Car-Seat.Org  with your purchases of infant, convertible, combination and boosters seats from our premier sponsors above.
Shop travel systems, strollers and baby gear from Britax, Chicco, Clek, Combi, Evenflo, First Years, Graco, Maxi-Cosi, Nuna, Safety 1st, Diono & more! ©2001-2022 Carseat Media LLC

Top