Can young kids go in the front seat if you are out of space in the back?

If you have 3 kids (imagine 2x4 year olds, 1x1 year old), can you put
one of the 4-year-olds in the front seat (in a proper seat), and the
other two in the back? Does anyone have a link to somewhere where this
kind of stuff is properly spelled out?

I'd also consider 3 in the back, with the middle one using the regular
lap seat belt, but I'd be concerned about her getting crushed between
the other two seats on a side impact.

Thanks indeed for any advice. Don't worry I'm not about to do any of
these things unless it turns out is legally acceptable and safe.

Thanks!

DeanB

On 21 May 2007 11:28:42 -0700, DeanB wrote:

If you have 3 kids (imagine 2x4 year olds, 1x1 year old), can you put
one of the 4-year-olds in the front seat (in a proper seat), and the
other two in the back? Does anyone have a link to somewhere where this
kind of stuff is properly spelled out?

I'd also consider 3 in the back, with the middle one using the regular
lap seat belt, but I'd be concerned about her getting crushed between
the other two seats on a side impact.

Thanks indeed for any advice. Don't worry I'm not about to do any of
these things unless it turns out is legally acceptable and safe.

Thanks!

DeanB

Some will argue that you can, if you disable the air bag. Frankly, I
never would.

My suggestion is to call your police dept and find out if it's legal.

Nan

How I would do it is put the younger one in the middle with the car seat
buckled with the lap belt and stick the older 2 on the outside in their
booster seats. It might be annoying to lean over to buckle the younger one
over the outside child but that way everyone has the strap they need.

When my mom and grandmother came the only one that fit in the 6th seat in my
car was Bonnie so she was temperarily out of her booster and if I had
thought about it for more then 3 seconds I would have remembered she still
fits in our travel car seat and that would have been safer then what we did.

Tori

--
Mom To:
Bonnie (03/20/02)
Xavier (10/27/04)
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!
Lucy Van Pelt (in Peanuts by Charles M. Schultz)

"DeanB" wrote in message
ups.com...
If you have 3 kids (imagine 2x4 year olds, 1x1 year old), can you put
one of the 4-year-olds in the front seat (in a proper seat), and the
other two in the back? Does anyone have a link to somewhere where this
kind of stuff is properly spelled out?

I'd also consider 3 in the back, with the middle one using the regular
lap seat belt, but I'd be concerned about her getting crushed between
the other two seats on a side impact.

Thanks indeed for any advice. Don't worry I'm not about to do any of
these things unless it turns out is legally acceptable and safe.

Thanks!

DeanB

DeanB wrote:
If you have 3 kids (imagine 2x4 year olds, 1x1 year old), can you put
one of the 4-year-olds in the front seat (in a proper seat), and the
other two in the back? Does anyone have a link to somewhere where this
kind of stuff is properly spelled out?

You have to check your state laws. They vary. In some
states it is not allowed, in some it is allowed only if there is
no alternative, and in still others it isn't a problem. If there
is front passenger side airbag, it is very dangerous to put a
rear-facing carseat in that position.

I'd also consider 3 in the back, with the middle one using the regular
lap seat belt, but I'd be concerned about her getting crushed between
the other two seats on a side impact.

That, and the danger of submarining is very significant
in that scenario. Depending on your car, you may be able to
find three narrow carseats that will work.

Best wishes,
Ericka

"DeanB" wrote in message
ups.com...
If you have 3 kids (imagine 2x4 year olds, 1x1 year old), can you put
one of the 4-year-olds in the front seat (in a proper seat), and the
other two in the back? Does anyone have a link to somewhere where this
kind of stuff is properly spelled out?

I'd also consider 3 in the back, with the middle one using the regular
lap seat belt, but I'd be concerned about her getting crushed between
the other two seats on a side impact.

Thanks indeed for any advice. Don't worry I'm not about to do any of
these things unless it turns out is legally acceptable and safe.

Thanks!

DeanB

Getting smooshed by the kid next to you isn't going to be as bad as getting
hit by an air bag. Have you ever been hit w/ one?
There is no way that I would put a 4 year old in the F.seat.

Getting smooshed by the kid next to you isn't going to be as bad as
getting hit by an air bag. Have you ever been hit w/ one?
There is no way that I would put a 4 year old in the F.seat.

I would be more worried about spinal damage caused from the lap belt only
belt in the case of a crash.

Tori
--
Mom To:
Bonnie (03/20/02)
Xavier (10/27/04)
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!
Lucy Van Pelt (in Peanuts by Charles M. Schultz)

"DeanB" wrote in message
ups.com...
If you have 3 kids (imagine 2x4 year olds, 1x1 year old), can you put
one of the 4-year-olds in the front seat (in a proper seat), and the
other two in the back?

Some places you can, some you can't. It would depend on where you live and
what the laws are as far as that goes.
In my own personal experience, I would NOT put a younger child of any age in
the front seat with an airbag. An airbag deploys at over 200mph. I,
personally, don't fancy that coming at ME, nevermind my (or any) child. An
adult friend of mine had her airbags deploy in an accident, and although she
was fairly unharmed, she had some major road rash from the airbag springing
out into her face. Her face/neck/chest was almost burned and raw due to the
fairly intense heat that it takes to set the bags out, as well as the sheer
speed it comes out at.

Does anyone have a link to somewhere where this
kind of stuff is properly spelled out?

No, your state/province/whatever would probably vary from area to area.

I'd also consider 3 in the back, with the middle one using the regular
lap seat belt, but I'd be concerned about her getting crushed between
the other two seats on a side impact.

Put the youngest in the middle with the lap belt in the car seat. At 1, the
child should definitely be in a car seat that has a 5-pt harness, not a
regular seat belt. I would put that one in the middle, then put the other
older 2 on either side seats. As far as getting crushed between the other
seats, that's nothing. I was t-boned in my car by a speeding truck. Fairly
high speeds (the guy was doing about 70km/h when the posted speed was only
50km/h.) and a fairly big impact. The back bench seat in that car kind of
went up and crushed to fold up like a tent peak. At that time, though, I
only had the 2 in the car. IMO, from my own experience, it would be safer
to be smushed into the back seat than not. DS's high back booster seat took
almost all of the impact. MAJOR frame damage to an older, metal car. The
impact was so great that the front seats crossed over eachother, and I
managed to get the front passenger's seat in my back/side.
So the seats mash all together in a collision. Car seats are made to take
some force, and I do think that under fairly normal circumstances, and even
fairly high speeds, the seats could probably crack or bang together, but I
really don't believe that they would crush the middle child. If you were
hit on the side hard enough to crush the child in the middle, then I also do
believe that you'd have to be hit hard enough that there would be likely
little chance for survival anyways. Those seats are hard. DS's booster
seat, hit at about 70km/h held up fairly well, actually. The plastic was
NOT cracked anywhere that we could see and it did not just shatter like
glass at all. The plastic on the seat was very stressed (turned white in
many spots from the original color of a dark, navy blue)
Again, you really would have to be hit very hard, it seems, for a seat to
smash a child in it. I do think it would be safer. The front passenger's
seat is THE single most dangerous location in a vehicle, due to front end
and t-bone collisions on the passenger's side being more common and often
coming with more or greater injuries (or worse)
I would not put a child in the front passenger's seat unless a) there are NO
more seats in the vehicle - a slightly cramped back seat isn't 'no more
seats' and b) ONLY if there are no airbags in that seat (and this goes hand
in hand with option a)

Thanks indeed for any advice. Don't worry I'm not about to do any of
these things unless it turns out is legally acceptable and safe.

Thanks!

DeanB

"DeanB" wrote in message
ups.com...
If you have 3 kids (imagine 2x4 year olds, 1x1 year old), can you put
one of the 4-year-olds in the front seat (in a proper seat), and the
other two in the back? Does anyone have a link to somewhere where this
kind of stuff is properly spelled out?

I'd also consider 3 in the back, with the middle one using the regular
lap seat belt, but I'd be concerned about her getting crushed between
the other two seats on a side impact.

Thanks indeed for any advice. Don't worry I'm not about to do any of
these things unless it turns out is legally acceptable and safe.

The legal answer depends on where you live. I have three carseats in the
back of my car (two convertibles and a backless booster) and I also have a
booster in the front seat. I disconnected the air bag. That is a feat in
and of itself - easy to do, hard to find someone to do it - even if you get
the proper paperwork.

It is always safer in the back seat so there is no site that will tell you
it is "ok" to put a child in the front. This is the real world though and
sometimes a child must sit in the front so most places stipulate that if all
the rear seats are full and a child must sit in front to use the proper
seat, disconnect the airbag, and move the seat as far back as it will go.
--
Nikki, mama to
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Brock 4/06
Ben 4/06

On May 21, 2:28?pm, DeanB wrote:
If you have 3 kids (imagine 2x4 year olds, 1x1 year old), can you put
one of the 4-year-olds in the front seat (in a proper seat), and the
other two in the back? Does anyone have a link to somewhere where this
kind of stuff is properly spelled out?

I'd also consider 3 in the back, with the middle one using the regular
lap seat belt, but I'd be concerned about her getting crushed between
the other two seats on a side impact.

Thanks indeed for any advice. Don't worry I'm not about to do any of
these things unless it turns out is legally acceptable and safe.

Thanks!

DeanB

I have been told by a police officer that you can; however, as you are
probably well aware, it is really dangerous with airbags and dangerous
period regardless. There are laws that differ from state to state that
indicate children of a certain age/height/weight are required to be in
a safety seat. Also, if you are transporting six people in a car that
only has five belts, the only stipulation is that all seatbelts
present are utlized, with the odd-man out not being a reason for a
ticket. There is also something about a car older than a certain year,
before seatbelts were made mandatory, where seatbelts are not required
and tickets cannot be given. None of this, of course, contributes to
safety however. I can picture your predicament though when I think of
my old car, and I know I would start searching for a vehicle that
would accommodate all of my family members safely, BUT for the time
being, I would keep the child in the carseat and disable the airbag so
he could ride up front. I haven't had the need since my car
accommodates all of the kids in the back now, but it brings to light a
booster that you might be able to buy the two 4-y/o's while keeping
the fuller 1-y/o seat in the middle. Most places that sell car seats
and boosters will allow you to take a model outdoors to try in your
car right there in the parking lot. It couldn't hurt to try.

On May 21, 6:45�pm, "Tori M" wrote:
Getting smooshed by the kid next to you isn't going to be as bad as
getting hit by an air bag. *Have you ever been hit w/ one?
There is no way that I would put a 4 year old in the F.seat.

I would be more worried about spinal damage caused from the lap belt only
belt in the case of a crash.

Tori
--
Mom To:
Bonnie (03/20/02)
Xavier (10/27/04)
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!
Lucy Van Pelt (in Peanuts by Charles M. Schultz)

I know of an incident where the 12-year-old girl seated and belted in
the middle of the back seat was bent forward on impact and hit her
head on the console between the two front seats, which killed her.