We need to buy a new vehicle and DH wants a truck. Long story short, the truck he wants would require LO to be in the front seat as long as he is in his rear-facing seat because the back seat isn't big enough. It is very easy to turn off the airbag, so I know we would have to do that. I can't find anything that says it is unsafe for LO to be in front, as long as the airbag is off. Anyone have any more information on this in either direction? DH claims it is just as safe, but I thought I remembered hearing that front seats should only be used as a last resort?
Re: Rear facing in the front seat WWYD?
the big question is, does the truck have the ability to turn off the passenger airbag?....to be honest, the air bag is the biggest reason the front seat is unsafe for children under a certain height whether in carseats or boosters.
Now...I personally would tell him to get a different vehicle, but that is the safety expert question.
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Ditto to previous posters. There is no way that I would be cool with LO riding in the front of DH's truck.
Is there any reason why he can't get a crew cab? Our friends have one and their Graco Snugride Carsteat fit fine in the "back " seat rear facing.
Why does he "have" to have a truck? I would think that if you were purchasing a new vehicle you would both want something that was more family friendly....
A Pocket Full Of Dinosaurs
Yeah I agree with this. Even if he just wants one and doesn't need it, there are plenty that have full sized cabs with actual seats in the back that would be so much safer. It just seems like this is a perfect example of one of the compromises/sacrifices you have to make when you have kids.
Sales guy is completely wrong! We have a Ford F150 crew cab and the Graco snugride and Britax Marathon (rear facing and forward facing) fit perfectly - much better than in our car!! I love our truck and if DH wants to get a truck for a second vehicle - it's fine as long as it has a back seat like a crew cab for carseats:)
Take the carseat with you when you test drive cars so you'll know how they fit in each vehicle. I'd imagine if a carseat base would fit in the back of my little honda civic it would fit anywhere.
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if there is no law against it. And there is no air bag / or its cut off.. they can't say " no we won't let you take your child home" thats a law suit. I don't see the problem as long as the air bag is turned off. Do airbags just turn themselves back on is that what people are concerned about? The only reason why you don't put the car seat in the front seat is because of the air bag right?
If there's no law against it then I guess technically the hospital can't stop you, but I could see them kicking up a fuss over it. I was always under the impression that the front passenger seat was not as safe as the back regardless of whether or not there were airbags.
This is what I am wondering. I can't find anything online that says it is any safer in the rear as long as there isn't an airbag. I will end up finding a vehicle where he can be back there anyway, but I just wanted to show DH some info and couldn't find anything that said rear seat was better if the airbag is turned off.
I am not sure you can turn off airbags on vehicles with any kind of back seat. I am not positive, but I think it's against safety regulations and they aren't even made.
A club cab is your best option if you HAVE to have a truck. My sister has a Dodge Ram 1500 Club Cab and both of her girls fit in the back with rear-facing seats with no problem.
BIL has a Toyota Tundra (I think... its a big truck) and he can fit both carseats in his back seat. So if you are looking for a truck you can easily get a carseat in and out of, this is it.
But on the whole thing of putting ANY child in the front seat, even if the air bag is off, I definitly wouldn't do it.