Gastro

My friends son wants me to take him out in my car. obviously I'm happy to oblige - but wanted to know the youngest age a front seat passenger can be ?? I don't know his age (!) - but thats my next question when I get home...

Cheers,

Gastro

damian666

12years IIRC

T.C

There is no minimum age, they simply have to be capable of sitting in the front seat with the seat belt correctly fastened. Whether a booster cushion is used or not doesn't matter, but they have to be capable of being properly restrained.

The same as on a motorcycle, there is again no minimum age, the pillion simply has to be capable of sitting astride the machine with both feet on the footrests.

Tiggs

hope you dont have a front airbag then?

GaryCat

Children in the front seat have been killed by the airbag deploying. Airbags are designed to absorb the impact of a full grown adult whereas a child, being smaller, would have their head struck by the inflating bag, while their torso is still moving forward.

However most of these incidents have been in the U.S. where airbags are larger as Americans don't use seat belts so much.

G.

red_dog104

My son has been sitting in the front since day 1!! He's now 6 and on a booster seat. I thought there was a law that said any child under the age of 10 wasn't allowed?! Maybe thats an old law or summat!!!

David Lock

..... but sitting on dad's lap and steering is to be discouraged (as I did when I was a kid)

boxst

David:

Unless it's on your drive of course. My three year old daughter shouts "Go Faster, make the engine roar". Oops....

Steve.

SCOOBY TOWERS

iTrader: (7)

I sit my 2 yr old lad on my knee to put the car in the garage.(he steers ) .
He's even started saying "faster dad faster" and were only going 10 ft.

supertouring

As is letting them start the car! Wife's sister used to let the kids go to the car, open it and start it for her. I say used to as her husband left it in gear one day and ..... you can guess the rest! (No one hurt thank god).

Some peoples idea of saftey leaves a lot to be desired!

camk

Gastro,
Not sure if you've still got the Porsche, I have my daughter(5) in the fronta lot but using the Porsche seat which has a dongle thing that clicks in and disables the airbag.

The Zohan

camk
The dongle thing - what a good idea, should be fitted as standard on all cars. Well done Porsche!

pugoetru

thats not fair i want a dongle

ianc

I think most of the fear of kids in front seats is the rear facing seats that *must not* be used with airbags.

A child seat or booster seat should be fine with an airbag, belt will lock up regardless and bag should only prevent contact with dashboard.

Hmm, inflating bag or dash - think I'd prefer it if they hit the bag.

Ian.
(three daughters, all seated in back)

Tiggs

the problem with kids in the front is that they move forward faster than adults and hit the lower part of the bag.

i saw a test ages ago where a child (dummy) in the front that would never have hit the dash had the bag hit them smack in the face. this would prob have snapped their neck.

mine went in the back until the car bags were disabled.

T

ianc

Thats probably more due to sitting too close.

I can't see how a lighter object will have more momentum is stopped quickly than a larger object?

Tiggs

ian,

from what i recall its not the weight its the pivot from the hip. a shorter hip to head distance means the head can move towrads the dash faster....although i think at the end of the day the location of the bag to head had more to do with it.

an adult head hits a bag in the centre, a childs head hits it lower down......my wife crashed a car and the bag nearly bust her nose...i wouldnt want it hitting a 3 yr old head on a little 3 year old neck.

T

ianc

True, and all the weight is above seat base height, unlike adults where we have legs to "anchor" us down a little bit.

Fair point.

IC