Child Seats

[ECappleman]

No One knows?

 

[ilovetrains]

No One knows?

Side impact. There are reported events of children in outboad seating position being killed not by impact, but by the side airbags available on mnay cars now. So kind of a double threat to children in the outboard locations.

 

[JRG]

Obviously, more space between an incroachment and you is the safest. Also less of a chance of you(kid) hitting your head on any of the surrounding cab. I think it is true, that LATCH was for ease, not necessarily more safety. As said "PROPERLY" is the key.



JRG

 

[BNH4221]

Any experience on what works best in middle of rear seat??? Money does not matter for her safety.....

Lawdog,

I have 2 munchkins (3 1/2 and 10 months) and put them both into Britax seats. He has the Wizard and she has the Boulevard. One of each for each vehicle. By far the most expensive seats on the market but you get what you pay for.

Since I have two, both are in the outboard position so I can't help you in the middle seat department.

I would have reservations about using the LATCH in the middle seat. I am of the opinion that the system in our trucks is designed for outboard seats only. I have no hard data on it, just that the positioning of the LATCHs seems to indicate outboard seating only. Would it work? Probably. Is it according to seat / car manufacturers instructions? Maybe not. Liability? Who knows. You gotta do what is right for you.

There are reported events of children in outboad seating position being killed not by impact, but by the side airbags

Lets be clear here. The airbags that are the issue are side IMPACT airbags. Our trucks are equipped with side CURTAIN airbags. Two different animals with differing purposes. The curtain airbags are NOT an issue as they are designed for adult head protection. One of the reasons I purchased my new truck was for the curtain airbags. Safe for the car seats and safe when the kids get older too.



Best to all



Steve

 

[Badunit]

Center seat is best for side impact, regardless of side airbags. You get a lot of crush room before something can hit a kid in the center seat. Center seat is also nicer for your front seat passenger because they can put their seat further back without taking leg room from the child (child seats take up a lot of room back there). The latch points are for the outboard seats only, not for the center seat. I use the seatbelt for the middle seat with a metal locking bar to hold it. I think the tethers are necessary in a frontal impact to keep child seats from tipping forward -- there's nothing else to prevent it but the tether.



I have two child seats in my truck, one behind the passenger seat and one in the middle. I flip the other rear seatback up and put the fold flat floor down (with a mat on it) for our dog.

 

[ECappleman]

Its just I don't like the way our seat contours in the middle. A bit of my car seat base hangs over.

Also my sons feet touch the center console. At a hard impact I'm afraid he could get hurt.

 

[ilovetrains]

Lawdog,

I have 2 munchkins (3 1/2 and 10 months) and put them both into Britax seats. He has the Wizard and she has the Boulevard. One of each for each vehicle. By far the most expensive seats on the market but you get what you pay for.

Since I have two, both are in the outboard position so I can't help you in the middle seat department.

I would have reservations about using the LATCH in the middle seat. I am of the opinion that the system in our trucks is designed for outboard seats only. I have no hard data on it, just that the positioning of the LATCHs seems to indicate outboard seating only. Would it work? Probably. Is it according to seat / car manufacturers instructions? Maybe not. Liability? Who knows. You gotta do what is right for you.







Lets be clear here. The airbags that are the issue are side IMPACT airbags. Our trucks are equipped with side CURTAIN airbags. Two different animals with differing purposes. The curtain airbags are NOT an issue as they are designed for adult head protection. One of the reasons I purchased my new truck was for the curtain airbags. Safe for the car seats and safe when the kids get older too.



Best to all



Steve

Actually - this is only partially true. The side impact airbags are known to have caused deaths. For that matter they have caused broken pelvis in elderly during activation.



However the side curtain airbag can be a specific problem as well. Many newer car seats from Evanflow and Britax have side bolsters that come up high around the shoulders of the child and even into the head area. The bottom of the curtain airbag is about level with the ear of a 30-40 lb child in a forward facing car seat. The bags are intended to take the brunt of the trauma to central area of the bag, with the edges wrapping around, forming something of a C shape. That means the bottom of the curtain bag is ejected first, and carries the most force. It can strike your child's seat, or even your child's head with the full force of the airbag charge but instead of the blunt face of the airbag, the portion that strikes them is the lower edge.

 

[lawdog]

Thanks for the info guys... . I will check into the Britax seats as well... .

 

[BNH4221]

However the side curtain airbag can be a specific problem as well. Many newer car seats from Evanflow and Britax have side bolsters that come up high around the shoulders of the child and even into the head area. The bottom of the curtain airbag is about level with the ear of a 30-40 lb child in a forward facing car seat. The bags are intended to take the brunt of the trauma to central area of the bag, with the edges wrapping around, forming something of a C shape. That means the bottom of the curtain bag is ejected first, and carries the most force. It can strike your child's seat, or even your child's head with the full force of the airbag charge but instead of the blunt face of the airbag, the portion that strikes them is the lower edge.

From the owners manual (04. 5, page 54) "The window bag is only about 3 1/2 inches thick when it is inflated". Checking my two seats, they are probably 6 inches inboard of the door frame, so I think impact with the seat is not an issue. Also, the way Britax seats are designed, the "wings" that they call TIPS - Total Impact Protection System - cover the childs head sufficiently that I am sure the airbag won't hit them in an inflation. That is one more reason I chose the -expensive- Britax. Best protection I could find for my kids.



As long as we are here, From the same owners manual, page 62 under the big "WARNING" label, "DO NOT install child restraint systems equipped with LATCH attachments in the center position of a Quad Cab model rear seat. " Warranty/liability issues anyone?



In the end, we all do what we think is right for our children. Life is a series of choices and compromises. Placement of car seats is one of them. I made the best choice for me based on available information. Is it the absolute best choice out there? Who knows. But I sleep well at night knowing I have what I consider to be the safest setup available short of a Sherman tank.



The COSCO car seat brochure sums it up pretty well:

" No one can predict if use of a car seat will prevent injury or death in a particular crash. However, combined with careful driving, proper use of a car seat can lower a child's risk of injury or death in most cases"



Well put.



Best to all -

Steve