Boulevard outboard or lesser seat center?

Splash

New member
Okay... I swore that I was not going to obsess about putting Charlie outboard.
I lied.

There is no way his BV can go center in the Forester. It cannot be done. It's too wide, sits too high, and without the benefit of a locking clip, it just can't be done.

So I installed it RF outboard passenger tethered to the outer front seat frame braced against the passenger seat very upright and anchored. It's solid. I have no concerns about the installation.

BUT- would it be better to buy another seat (and sleep on the couch for approximately four months :) ) in order to put him in the center? IF I could even get it installed well?

We currently have an AO but I think that would be too wide as well. So I was thinking an Intera. But I am now completely stuck on RF seats being tethered and I don't know if I would be able to convince myself that untethered RF is just fine.

The car is a 2006 Subaru Forester. It does not have rear SAB.

I CAN put his SafeSeat in the center, and up until yesterday I had it there. But Jean really prefers the SS for the van (she gets more use of it's convenience than I do, although she was fine with having a BV). But honestly, it's a pain to buckle him in the SS in the center because I always have to let the belts out, plus the lockoff is super solid but it REALLY creases the vehicle belts and honestly it concerns me. I know that the Decathlon lockoffs damaged people's belts and I am wondering if the SS lockoffs will as well. So long story short, I would prefer to leave the SS in the van since I do love the seat for infants but Charlie is beyond infant stage and I never carry it around anyway (but Jean would).

I know his BV is a better seat than any of my other options and I definitely think it is much safer than an Intera any day. But would an Intera (or another seat anyone can think of besides a Radian) in the center be safer than a BV outboard?
 
ADS

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
I wouldn't worry about it. You won't find any statistics to show either of those options would be safer. Most of the latest research shows that the center seat is not much safer (if at all) than outboard seats for properly restrained passengers.

Having the child restrained properly in the back seat using an age-appropriate restraint system are by far the most important factors for reducing injuries and fatalties in motor vehicle crashes.

I've never had a problem putting our kids in outboard seats. Being rear-facing in a 5-point harness also adds side impact protection and the wings on the BV are nice, too.
 

Splash

New member
Thanks Darren.
You say that nothing shows the middle being any safer. HOW can that be?
I understand that if a child is behind the driver and the passenger side is hit, then the kid is safer than had he been in the middle. But really, how? No crash that anyone would survive though (I think) would intrude that much into the vehicle to hit a kid in the MIDDLE seat. So how does the other side offer additional protection?
I'm imagining that in a typical crash, there is not going to be a great deal of intrusion into the vehicle. So while he might get more beat up superficially (cuts from broken glass, more bruising) outboard than center, he'll likely still be okay. Cuts and bruises are nothing.

Also, fairly unrelated... does a sunroof affect safety in a rollover? I was thinking that in a rollover he might actually be SAFER on the side, since the b pillars can hold up the roof, versus it kinda bowing in in the center under the sunroof... or giant sticks coming through the glass :)
I know I'm obsessing. I promise I will quit now.
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
It's isn't always intuitive. Apparently, the added risk of being on the struck side of a side impact is almost balanced by the reduced risk of being on the non-struck side. Not all the studies agree, but here are some quotes from recent releases by the Partners for Child Passenger Safety:


- "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."

- "Overall risk for serious injury was more than twice as high for children sitting on the struck side of the vehicle than for children seated in the center and non-struck side seating positions in side-impact crashes."

-"In vehicles equipped with lap-and-shoulder belts in the center rear, the center rear had similar injury risk to the outboard positions."

"Of most importance, no statistically significant difference in risk of injury was noted between children seated in the center rear and those seated on the struck side."

So, the center seat may be safer, but it's probably a small difference. That's why it's hard to find statistics and the ones you do find sometimes contradict each other. This alone probably means the increase in safety in the center seat is not as great as you would think. That's why we emphasize that any seat in back is fine as long as the passenger is properly restrained. If you can get a good install in the center, that would still be the first choice but it really isn't based on compelling statistics.

On the other hand, it's pretty universal that major reductions in the risk of fatalities and injuries come from putting kids in the back seat, in age appropriate restraints and making sure they are properly restrained.

I don't know about sunroofs. I'd avoid having an aftermarket one installed, but factory ones should be OK. There is no roof crush testing, so we're at the mercy of the manufacturers.
 

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