Rear facing child seats are 5 times safer....

[heebeegeetee]

Risotto said:

Driving is a reasonably dangerous pastime and if it were practical, none of us would subject children to the accompanying risks...

I would question that and would love to see some stats in how rtas fare in a child's life, but I guess that's another topic.

[boobles]

TA14 said:

boobles said:

DoubleSix said:

Ok cool, but surely not very comfy for them, I like to straighten my legs from time to time on a journey. I mean, I can't imagine a two or three year old in our rear facing Britax.

Does this seat go up to three years rear facing? If so then it's fine.

Whilst that may be so from a crash safety aspect I think that he wants to avoid his seat being kicked. Remember that this is PH!

Is he driving in the boot then?

[carinaman]

boobles said:

Is he driving in the boot then?

He could be if he's in a Crossfire. How's it going?

[UK952]

Is it more dangerous for the front seat passenger to be fully forward accommodating a large rear child seat?

[surveyor]

The biggest problem we found with a forward facing seat is that two minutes after strapping daughter in, she'd have wriggled free of the shoulder straps.

We ended up tying then together to stop her forcing then apart. IMO they need an extra clip.

[boobles]

carinaman said:

boobles said:

Is he driving in the boot then?

He could be if he's in a Crossfire. How's it going?

Love it & it's a keeper. I don't normally keep cars much beyond 1 year but I've had this for just over 2.

[DoubleSix]

surveyor said:

The biggest problem we found with a forward facing seat is that two minutes after strapping daughter in, she'd have wriggled free of the shoulder straps.

We ended up tying then together to stop her forcing then apart. IMO they need an extra clip.

I simply wouldn't be using that seat.

[boobles]

DoubleSix said:

surveyor said:

The biggest problem we found with a forward facing seat is that two minutes after strapping daughter in, she'd have wriggled free of the shoulder straps.

We ended up tying then together to stop her forcing then apart. IMO they need an extra clip.

I simply wouldn't be using that seat.

In the UK they are not allowed to use extra clips etc because it must be 1 single release to get the child out so it's very difficult for manufactures to overcome this. We try to educate people & introduce such devices which tell the parents when the harness is tight enough etc but alot of it comes down to educating children that what they are doing is wrong which is always easier said than done!

Edited by boobles on Friday 3rd January 10:25

[aizvara]

UK952 said:

Is it more dangerous for the front seat passenger to be fully forward accommodating a large rear child seat?

Probably. However, our car seat is as large as necessary for a four year old/18kg, and the car is a common smallish saloon. In our case, the front passenger seat is not much further forward than the driver's seat, and any front passenger would be fine safety-wise.

[Zod]

TA14 said:

Risotto said:

There are other options - have a look at Kiddy seats. They're forward facing but don't utilise a traditional harness. This one will see them through from 9months to 12 years:

http://www.kiddy.de/en/car-seats/9months-12years/k...

They use the impact cushion system which means the child isn't pinned to the seat with a harness, meaning that their upper body is allowed to move forward in a crash, reducing the risk of neck injuries. Or so I believe - I couldn't say how they compare to the traditional design of forward-facing seats. Perhaps a compromise to consider?

When I was looking for a seat to fit the GTV I was recommended to look at the BMW seats http://www.bmw.com/com/en/owners/accessories/inter... which look to be on the same principle.

Mercedes and Porsche use the same seats. They can also be used with a seatbelt once the child is 18kg+. We've been using one for all three since 2007 and will probably use it for another year until the youngest hits four. Then the middle one will be on a booster (he's coming up to five in March).

[lenats31]

oldcynic said:

hey can generally see out better due to their elevated seating position, a carefully placed mirror (as found in Mothercare etc) allows you to see them, and the loss of visibility is less than having a third adult travelling in the rear seats.

Exactly!

[lenats31]

mollytherocker said:

She is 17 months and fairly petite and has outgrown the rear facing isofix Maxi cosi we have and that one touches the drivers seat in my Insignia!

The advice seems to be keep them rear facing for up to 20kg as the very minimum.

Size of the car doesn´t mean much regarding space for rearfacing seats group 1 and 1+2. Even a small car can have decent room inside.

I fitted a Britax Multi-tech into a Volvo XC90 a couple of years ago. Then I fitted it into a Peugeot 207 hatchback afterwards. Space requirements were exactly the same.

it is really a combination between car make and model, the persons using the car and the car seat. So space requirements differ.

I put a Britax Dualfix into a Seat Mii just the other day. I´m 5 ft 11" tall. Space behind the driver´s seat was ok. Space for me in the front passenger seat was better app 10 cm maybe a bit more between knees and dashboard.

The best way to find out, is to make an appointment with a retailer and try some seats if you want this.

My youngest was in a rearfacing seat fulltime in our car until age 5½. Then he began to complain about comfort (lack thereof), and that´s when we started to turn him FF - teaching him to sit in a booster seat. The Dualfix won´t last that long onless the child is very very small and very lightweight. never say never but.... there are other seats with taller backs and higher harness slots and more legspace for the child.

Edited by lenats31 on Friday 3rd January 22:17

[mollytherocker]

Found this which seems fairly convincing.

[lenats31]

I visited VTI in Sweden in September 2013. That´s where the Plus Test mentioned right above is carried out.

They have a big helmet that weighs app 14 kg. Put that on your head, and you´ll know why small children walk with their arms out and legs spread.

[Vladimir]

I love it how someone (me) that did huge amounts of research (I spoke to actual people) and imported one before they were available here, gets ignored in favour of a loads of vacuous guesses and statistics. Very PH...

[Some Gump]

Vladimir said:

I love it how someone (me) that did huge amounts of research (I spoke to actual people) and imported one before they were available here, gets ignored in favour of a loads of vacuous guesses and statistics. Very PH...

Did you research the average trajectory of an orally propelled pacifier?

[lenats31]

mollytherocker said:

Yes, that is correct.

So, does this mean that the argument for rear facing is relevant to head on collisions only?

Nah, because even in a rear impact you´ll find that one car is going forwards into the back of the other one. But the impact is classed as rear impact.

Since both cars are travelling in the same direction - even tough one is not moving, it´s not the same as having a frontal. The cars don´t come to an abrupt stop in milisseconds. if the car you bump into is not moving, then it will highly likely be pushed forwards.

Most of them happen at low speed

Edited by lenats31 on Saturday 4th January 20:30

[Disco_Biscuit]

mollytherocker said:

Found this which seems fairly convincing.

We went for a BeSafe car seat but a front facing one, the rear facing ones don't seem to have enough leg room, our 20 month old legs hit the car seat in the front now.

http://www.carseat.co.uk/Car-seat-Products/Toddler...

[Mave]

Vladimir said:

I love it how someone (me) that did huge amounts of research (I spoke to actual people) and imported one before they were available here, gets ignored in favour of a loads of vacuous guesses and statistics. Very PH...

At no point before have you mentioned that you did huge amounts of research and spoke to actual people. You simply said you "went through this". I love it how people get upset because people aren't telepathic. Very PH...

[mollytherocker]

Well, I have decided that rear facing it is. Having researched the subject, I am convinced that on balance, they are far safer. I am buying this for my 18m old daughter.

http://www.mothercare.com/Britax-Max-Fix-Rearward-...

At the end of the day, it comes down to her safety if the worst happens. All the arguments about being uncomfortable, not liking facing rearwards, having to put the passenger far too forward etc etc disappear into irrelavance when you look at what is important.

MTR