Our oldest now 8yrs and 135cm height, he wants to sit up-front in the car.

The car (Volvo) has an on/off switch for the airbag, do we need to switch it off if he sits in the front passenger seat or is he OK with it on?

Or should we just make him sit in the back?

No, the off switch is for when you are using rear facing car seats because they stick out into the airbag danger zone and smack the back of the car seat breaking the kid’s neck.

If the kid is sitting forwards it’s ok.

You could always read the manual you know 🙂

Do kids come with manuals?

Who needs a manual when you have STW wikiforum?

No, the off switch is for when you are using rear facing car seats because they stick out into the airbag danger zone and smack the back of the car seat breaking the kid’s neck. If the kid is sitting forwards it’s ok. You could always read the manual you know

It isn’t just that. Not supposed to use airbags if the kid is a)in a booster seat, or b)not big enough so that the adult seatbelt fits them perfectly.

The danger is that the kid comes forward and gets hit by the airbag.

All the safety advice I can find says back seat safer until about 12 and airbags off if you must take a 0-9 yr old in a front seat.

Joe

I think joe is correct.

Cheers……135cm is the legal requirement for a car seat so he’s out of that. Will keep him in the back for any long journeys of course, maybe let him sit up front when just in town.

Pretty good dad and son moment when he sits up front……

maybe let him sit up front when just in town.

Um, which I would hazard a guess is the more likely place for you to be involved in an accident….?

Not sure if Joe’s correct there tbh. A kid in a booster up front is no more likely to get their head near the dash than an adult, are they? The airbag only comes out a few cm and their face should be well away from that. The instructions and warnings seem to suggest that it’s only rear facing car seats that are the issue.

If you have links that would be good though.

UK advice:

Generally, children are safer restrained in the rear seats. In deciding where children should travel in your car you should always follow the vehicle and child restraint manufacturer’s advice. If you do carry children facing forward in the front seat, they should always be properly restrained and the seat should be latched as far back as possible.

US advice: not in front seat till 13

http://www.cdc.gov/features/passengersafety/

The safety stats: airbags on for 9-12 yrs, off for younger kids. Sitting them in the back safest for at least up to 9 year olds. Kids under 9 significantly more likely to die in the front seat.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/archives/2000-releases/press10302000.html

If you do carry children facing forward in the front seat, they should always be properly restrained and the seat should be latched as far back as possible

Agreed, but it doesn’t say to disable the airbag there…?

US airbags are a different spec to European ones, apparently.

molgrips, whilst what you say is factually correct, I tend to err on the side of caution and keep the kids in the back. The stats say overall its safer back there.

Molgrips, it’s a tricky question to say if the childs head will land in the correct area of the Airbag. Also the positioning of the diagonal strap will have a major bearing on where the head lands in the airbag.

Obviously, if the childs head lands on the edge of the airbag then it will be subject to a rotational force. Not something that is likely to have a good outcome.

The question of whether the childs head will actually move forwards enough to reach the airbag depends on several factors such as decelerative force, slack in the seatbelt and the individual design of the car etc.

From personal experience in motorsport i can say that even with 6 point harnesses, fully tightened, it is scary how far the head moves forwards in an impact.

Perhaps we need to fit all kids with a HANS system ? Not really practical though.

US airbags are generally larger than european ones. This is a tacit admission by US manufacturers/regulators that many of the owners don’t wear a belt at all !

I tend to err on the side of caution and keep the kids in the back.

Me too! I’m not advocating kids in the front, I’m thinking about if it’s safer or not to have the airbag switched off if you do. Everything I read about the airbag switch says that it’s for when you have a rear facing child seat in the front – because of course the back of the child seat could only be inches from the dash.

Stucol – that all sounds right but I’d say it also applies to adults too? Re harnesses, when we were little kids and child seats weren’t common, my Dad fitted 5 point harnesses for us 🙂

Good colour on this chaps, thanks. Think maybe we put the foot down and keep him in the back.

I spoke to Maxi Cosi (that’s a manufacturer – not a dodgy bloke) and they say that the child should be in the back but if they must be in the front:

1. Move the seat back as far as possible/reasonable
2. Rear-facing – disable the airbag
3. Forward facing (either the 5 point harness – aged 1-4 ish, or the boosters that use the seatbelt for aged 4+) should have the airbag on.