S/O Carseats - Which side of the backseat is better??

88eve88 · June 2012

Right now, I have the carseat in the middle of the backseat. I know that is the safest possible place to put it.

However, I'm eventually going to have to move it to the side because I've already whacked my head on the door frame several times trying to heave DS's carseat out of the car - it's SUPER heavy with him in it. (I'm still using the Snap n' Go)

When we switch to a bigger carseat, DS (who is a bit of a chunky monkey) will have to be lifted in and out of the seat. There's no way I will be able to lift him out of the carseat (placed in the middle), out of the car, and into the stroller/shopping cart (or vice versa) without hitting his head or mine ... or worse, dropping him!

Every site I've looked at tells me that middle back is best. I KNOW this. But they never say what's second best. Is it driver side or passenger side? Anyone know??

sparks2987 · June 2012

When we got our carseats checked, they told me middle was safest, however since my car is tiny, the carseat only fits if the seat is all the way up. If it was in the middle, I would have to scoot both seats all the way up and couldnt drive. So I put it on the passenger side. He told me that was the best side if the carseat has to be on one side or the other. He never said why, but I didnt really have a choice so I just stick to that.

Plus I like being able to see her, if she was behind me I couldnt see her

Jen0204 · June 2012

I wonder why they say middle is best. Lots of cars have middle seats that come up a little higher then the other seats so I would think that would make it hard for the car seats to sit properly.

We have to put one behind the driver and passenger (I don't think they would fit properly side by side) so I'm no help.

a_m_brown · June 2012

I've heard the driver's side is safer than the passenger side because your instinct is to protect the side of the car you're seated on when driving.

Lena122 · June 2012

I like having mine on the passenger side so I can turn to see DS. Also, I park my car on the street so when I load and unload him I'm at the curb, not in the middle of the street.

btartaroind · June 2012

a_m_brown:
I've heard the driver's side is safer than the passenger side because your instinct is to protect the side of the car you're seated on when driving.

This is what I think so DS is on the driver's side. Although for LO#2 I will move him over to passenger so I can hand him things etc since he will be older.

naturegal79 · June 2012

My DH is a police officer and knows several car seat inspectors and they told us the best place is away from air bags if possible. I have a Equinox and there are airbags in the back on both driver and passenger side so our LO is in the middle. He has been to many car accident scenes that sounded horrifying because the infant got blasted by airbags.

88eve88 · June 2012

naturegal79:
My DH is a police officer and knows several car seat inspectors and they told us the best place is away from air bags if possible. I have a Equinox and there are airbags in the back on both driver and passenger side so our LO is in the middle. He has been to many car accident scenes that sounded horrifying because the infant got blasted by airbags.

My little car is not sophisticated enough to have airbags in the back. Did your DH happen to mention which side is safer if airbags are not a problem?

preggersINschool25 · June 2012

a_m_brown:
I've heard the driver's side is safer than the passenger side because your instinct is to protect the side of the car you're seated on when driving.

This

lindsayandjamie · June 2012

Our carseat instructor told us that the statistics have the driver side as the safest side for the reason mentioned above, but the stats are something like 1.7% of accidents are rear passenger impact and 1.5% is rear driver so it is a very small difference. She also said the middle is the best because it is in the centre of the vehicle.

heymommy · June 2012

If you aren't looking for safty reasons the better side just depends.

You can reach and see the baby better if they sit behind the passenger. If you have older kids that go to school and use a carpool drop -off the baby is best behind the driver. My baby sits behind me because of carpool.

noryang · June 2012

lindsayandjamie:
Our carseat instructor told us that the statistics have the driver side as the safest side for the reason mentioned above, but the stats are something like 1.7% of accidents are rear passenger impact and 1.5% is rear driver so it is a very small difference. She also said the middle is the best because it is in the centre of the vehicle.

As far as safety goes - the chances of an accident in which the side of the car matters is very, very small. So while I don't have an accident several times a day - I do load and unload her repeatedly. We are faaaar safer doing this from the curbside than the roadside.

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S/O Carseats - Which side of the backseat is better??

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