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

[DJFish]

Some links:
http://www.carsafetyrules.com/swedes-save-more-liv...
http://www.rearfacing.co.uk/facts.php
http://www.carseat.se/the-swedish-rear-facing-car-...

[SBDJ]

mollytherocker said:

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

I can't see how that is practical. That weight puts them at around 5-6 years old. If I put my 5 year old son (~16kg) in a rear facing car seat then his knees would almost be in his face!

[Engineer1]

mollytherocker said:

Zod said:

There is one massive problem with them: they take up more space than is practical in most cars.

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.

The other thing to consider is how much the seat, it's size and shape and the requirments to fit it in compromise visibility or driving position. The child being 5X safer but your driving being impared because you have a massive blind spot down the passenger side may reduce the advantage the seat conferes.

Then there is the fact you can't see what they are up to, they can't see out...

[oldcynic]

Engineer1 said:

Then there is the fact you can't see what they are up to, they can't see out...

They 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.

[Andy Zarse]

mollytherocker said:

Zod said:

There is one massive problem with them: they take up more space than is practical in most cars.

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.

I can recommend the Maxi Cosi Axiss as a replacement. It's the one that swivels 90 degrees so you can put the child in and out without doing your back in! Also allows you to tighten the straps properly which is probably as important a safety factor as which way it faces.

[kambites]

mollytherocker said:

How can a rear end collision be less severe? The impact is equal for both cars?

I suppose the average closing speed will be lower because you're unlikely to be reversing at high speed and a significant proportion of accidents are head-ons.

[dazwalsh]

The seat we have for our 11 month old daughter has a kind of lap insert rather than any belts holding her in. Forward facing seat that uses isofix to hold it in

The idea of the lap insert is that the child will kind of roll forward over the thing rather than belts holding her body whilst her head is shot forward.

Another genius design of it is speakers built into the headrest so that she can hear the tablet we attach to the back of the front passenger seat and people upfront don't have to suffer episode after episode of in the night garden in their ears.

If i could only remember the damn name of it.

[dazwalsh]

Its the Recaro monza Nova.

[Pickled Piper]

Rear facing seats tend to be more reclined (that's also why they take up so much space) and so are more supportive of the infant's neck and heat. Forward facing seats tend not to be so reclined as they are restricted by the angle of the vehicle seat and hence you are more reliant on the infant supporting his/her own head.

pp

[y2blade]

McWigglebum4th said:

y2blade said:

"Boobles" will see this now.

He'll explain all

Ah the strange person who lives underground firing rubber children at a concrete block.

It's only his hobby

He is actually a bus driver called Alan

[gabbo]

We bought a rear facing seat for our lad, he hated it as he couldn't see where he was going, although at the time that was all he was used to. Put him in a front facing and all was well.

[boobles]

y2blade said:

McWigglebum4th said:

y2blade said:

"Boobles" will see this now.

He'll explain all

Ah the strange person who lives underground firing rubber children at a concrete block.

It's only his hobby

He is actually a bus driver called Alan

Shhh don't tell everyone!

There is no doubt that rear facing is safe but to say 5 times safer isn't necessarily the truth for all instances. Any good child seat that is right for the child & right for the car & fitted correctly will more than likely save the childs life. I know in Scandinavian countries they have children sitting rear facing until the age of 6 but for some reason, we Brits don't like this hence alot of work has gone into making forward facing seats perfectly safe.

Edited by boobles on Thursday 2nd January 10:31

[JonnyVTEC]

mollytherocker said:

How can a rear end collision be less severe? The impact is equal for both cars?

You dont reverse at 70mph maybe?

[mollytherocker]

JonnyVTEC said:

mollytherocker said:

How can a rear end collision be less severe? The impact is equal for both cars?

You dont reverse at 70mph maybe?

The driver having a 70mph front impact into a car is causing a 70mph rear impact to the car he is hitting!

[kambites]

mollytherocker said:

The driver having a 70mph front impact into a car is causing a 70mph rear impact to the car he is hitting!

Yes, but the driver having a 70mph impact into a car travelling at 70mph the other way, is having a 140mph impact, which is rather difficult with a rear-end impact. You are also far more likely to have a head-on at close to full speed; it's very rare for a rear-end collision to happen with the car behind at least starting to slow down.

[mollytherocker]

kambites said:

mollytherocker said:

The driver having a 70mph front impact into a car is causing a 70mph rear impact to the car he is hitting!

Yes, but the driver having a 70mph impact into a car travelling at 70mph the other way, is having a 140mph impact, which is rather difficult with a rear-end impact.

Ah, but each car dissapates 70 mph. Its no different.

[kambites]

mollytherocker said:

Ah, but each car dissapates 70 mph. Its no different.

I think you need to go back to your GCSE physics.

If you rear-end someone in an identical weight car at 70mph, each car's instantaneous speed delta will only be 35mph. Hitting another car head-on at 70mph is (roughly) the same as hitting a concrete block at 70mph, but it's very different to hitting a stationary car.

Edited by kambites on Thursday 2nd January 10:43

[mollytherocker]

kambites said:

mollytherocker said:

Ah, but each car dissapates 70 mph. Its no different.

I think you need to go back to your GCSE physics.

If you rear-end someone in an identical weight car at 70mph, each car's instantaneous speed delta will only be 35mph.

Yes, that is correct.

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

[MattOz]

Our 11 month old remains in a rear facing seat after SWMBO read up on the Scandinavian findings etc. We have a very nice forward facing Recaro that he could've moved up into from his initial baby seat, but instead I we bought a Cybex Sirona. It can face forwards or rearwards. Also allows for easier ingress/egress as it swivels. Overall a great seat, but he'll still face forward in my car......

[braddo]

Andy Zarse said:

I can recommend the Maxi Cosi Axiss as a replacement. It's the one that swivels 90 degrees so you can put the child in and out without doing your back in! Also allows you to tighten the straps properly which is probably as important a safety factor as which way it faces.

Another recommendation for the Axiss here.

I kept our child in the rear facing maxi cosi as long as possible for the safety reason. We then swapped to the Axiss, whose swivel function really helps when wrestling 15kg into it and getting the belts tight.