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Scooby_Doo
If a child should ride in the back seat (which most don't as I've seen) until the age of 13 years old, what about the weight of that 13 year old? My son was in a car seat until the age of 8 and booster seat until age (I forget) 12 or so years old. So if say a 14 year old is 4 ft 10 or 11 inches and 86 lbs that is ok for the front seat? Just wondering! My answer would be 16 years old in the front seat but that is me. Even adults can be seriously injured from air bags in the front seat.. so who is to say!?
Answer
When we bought cars with air bags, we thought we were buying safer cars. Recent news tells us, however, that expanding air bags have been responsible for the deaths of 32 children. While alarming, this does not mean that air-bag equipped cars are dangerous. It does mean, however, that we need to rethink how we transport our children. Here's what you need to know.
The facts
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 30 of the 32 children who died were not properly buckled or were not wearing a safety belt. Air bags were never meant to replace belts -- they were always meant to supplement them. Seat belts prevent you from being thrown out of the car in a crash. They also keep you from hitting the interior of the car. You have to wear a seat belt even if there is an air bag.
Despite mandatory safety belt use laws in all 50 states for children (and in 49 states for adults), NHTSA reports that only 68 percent of drivers and passengers regularly wear safety belts.
Air bags have saved six people for every one who has died. But for small children in the front seat who are not buckled up, air bags are deadly.
The recommendations
All children should sit in the back seat, buckled up. "NHTSA recommends all children 12 and under sit in the back seat, but the American Academy of Pediatrics doesn't have an age cut off. Actually, sitting in the back seat is the safest for every human being," says Dr. Murray Katcher, chair of the Committee on Injury and Poison Prevention for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
An infant in a rear facing child seat must ride in the back seat if the vehicle has a passenger-side air bag. This is because the seat will be too close to the air bag and it may injure the child if it inflates.
Buckle up correctly. All children under forty pounds are required by all fifty states to use a child safety seat. Those over forty pounds should use a booster seat until they can wear a safety belt comfortably. Don't let children slip the shoulder part of the lap belt behind them because that is like not wearing a seat belt at all. If the shoulder strap does not fit, use a booster seat.
If a child must ride in the front, move the seat as far back as possible, to be away from the air bag. Make sure the child is buckled up properly.
What to say to your children
Older kids who are used to sitting in front may balk at getting in the back. Many families have kids take turns sitting in front, or even use sitting in front as a reward. How can a parent change this situation?
Janet Dewey, Executive Director of the Air Bag Safety Campaign (and mother of a five-year-old) recomends you say something like, "You need to protect your head in the car just like you do when you wear a helmet to ride a bike. Sitting in the back protects your head in the car."
You can tell your children that you know they like to sit in the front and that you are not punishing them. Dewey advises you can also say, "I just learned that airbags aren't safe for kids and that it's actually safest for kids to sit in the back seat with a seatbelt on -- so that's where you need to sit."
Dewey adds that you should reduce the size of carpools so no one sits in the front.
The future
The automotive industry and the government are doing everything they can to make air bags safe. Letters are being sent by manufacturers to car owners, warning that children should sit in the back. Air bag warnings are being installed in new cars. The government may allow installation of an on-off switch or a total disconnect of air bags, but this option is very controversial. "There is no doubt that the greatest threat to the health of our children today is not air bags, the greatest threat is children being in a crash while riding unbuckled or incorrectly buckled," says Dewey.
New air bags are being designed to be "smarter." They will be able to tailor their deployment to the size of the occupant and the crash severity. In addition, new air bags will be depowered 20-35 percent, so women and children will be safer. Current air bags are overpowered because they were designed to protect adult males.
Resources
Questions about air bags can be directed to the Auto Safety Hotline at 800-424-9393. For up-to-date information on air bag issues, contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
When we bought cars with air bags, we thought we were buying safer cars. Recent news tells us, however, that expanding air bags have been responsible for the deaths of 32 children. While alarming, this does not mean that air-bag equipped cars are dangerous. It does mean, however, that we need to rethink how we transport our children. Here's what you need to know.
The facts
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 30 of the 32 children who died were not properly buckled or were not wearing a safety belt. Air bags were never meant to replace belts -- they were always meant to supplement them. Seat belts prevent you from being thrown out of the car in a crash. They also keep you from hitting the interior of the car. You have to wear a seat belt even if there is an air bag.
Despite mandatory safety belt use laws in all 50 states for children (and in 49 states for adults), NHTSA reports that only 68 percent of drivers and passengers regularly wear safety belts.
Air bags have saved six people for every one who has died. But for small children in the front seat who are not buckled up, air bags are deadly.
The recommendations
All children should sit in the back seat, buckled up. "NHTSA recommends all children 12 and under sit in the back seat, but the American Academy of Pediatrics doesn't have an age cut off. Actually, sitting in the back seat is the safest for every human being," says Dr. Murray Katcher, chair of the Committee on Injury and Poison Prevention for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
An infant in a rear facing child seat must ride in the back seat if the vehicle has a passenger-side air bag. This is because the seat will be too close to the air bag and it may injure the child if it inflates.
Buckle up correctly. All children under forty pounds are required by all fifty states to use a child safety seat. Those over forty pounds should use a booster seat until they can wear a safety belt comfortably. Don't let children slip the shoulder part of the lap belt behind them because that is like not wearing a seat belt at all. If the shoulder strap does not fit, use a booster seat.
If a child must ride in the front, move the seat as far back as possible, to be away from the air bag. Make sure the child is buckled up properly.
What to say to your children
Older kids who are used to sitting in front may balk at getting in the back. Many families have kids take turns sitting in front, or even use sitting in front as a reward. How can a parent change this situation?
Janet Dewey, Executive Director of the Air Bag Safety Campaign (and mother of a five-year-old) recomends you say something like, "You need to protect your head in the car just like you do when you wear a helmet to ride a bike. Sitting in the back protects your head in the car."
You can tell your children that you know they like to sit in the front and that you are not punishing them. Dewey advises you can also say, "I just learned that airbags aren't safe for kids and that it's actually safest for kids to sit in the back seat with a seatbelt on -- so that's where you need to sit."
Dewey adds that you should reduce the size of carpools so no one sits in the front.
The future
The automotive industry and the government are doing everything they can to make air bags safe. Letters are being sent by manufacturers to car owners, warning that children should sit in the back. Air bag warnings are being installed in new cars. The government may allow installation of an on-off switch or a total disconnect of air bags, but this option is very controversial. "There is no doubt that the greatest threat to the health of our children today is not air bags, the greatest threat is children being in a crash while riding unbuckled or incorrectly buckled," says Dewey.
New air bags are being designed to be "smarter." They will be able to tailor their deployment to the size of the occupant and the crash severity. In addition, new air bags will be depowered 20-35 percent, so women and children will be safer. Current air bags are overpowered because they were designed to protect adult males.
Resources
Questions about air bags can be directed to the Auto Safety Hotline at 800-424-9393. For up-to-date information on air bag issues, contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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Title Post: Ride in the backseat until 13 years of age?
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