Rear facing seats?
Discussion
Mentioned on the Montego thread, rear facing seats in the boot of estate cars are a “death trap” apparently and I can certainly see why that would be the consensus.
However, like Swans breaking your arms, I have never heard of any accidents where the rear facing seats have been a factor ?
Now I am sure it has happened but personally never heard of it, anyone else got any opinions or examples of them being dangerous ?
However, like Swans breaking your arms, I have never heard of any accidents where the rear facing seats have been a factor ?
Now I am sure it has happened but personally never heard of it, anyone else got any opinions or examples of them being dangerous ?
I suppose the issue is that without proper head restraints, rear-facing seats would have been dangerous in any forward-orientated collision. Not sure if any cars with rear facing seats didn't have head restraints though.
The other issue would be sitting in the perceived crumple zone, but this is no different to sitting in the back of an Aygo etc today.
The other issue would be sitting in the perceived crumple zone, but this is no different to sitting in the back of an Aygo etc today.
Muddle238 said:
I suppose the issue is that without proper head restraints, rear-facing seats would have been dangerous in any forward-orientated collision. Not sure if any cars with rear facing seats didn't have head restraints though.
The other issue would be sitting in the perceived crumple zone, but this is no different to sitting in the back of an Aygo etc today.
I'd imagine the back of a current Aygo is much safer than the boot of a Montego.The other issue would be sitting in the perceived crumple zone, but this is no different to sitting in the back of an Aygo etc today.
ajprice said:
Silvanus said:
Do any manufacturers still offer rear facing seats in the boot?
Tesla Model S had/has a rear facing kids seats option.
I'm not sure whether it was available to buyers but rear facing seats were shown by Tesla for the Model Y too.
ajprice said:
Tesla Model S had/has a rear facing kids seats option.
I'm not sure whether it was available to buyers but rear facing seats were shown by Tesla for the Model Y too.
When the Model S was a relatively new phenomenon, a friend was one of the first used Tesla specialists in the area, probably the UK, had an open day. One of them was fitted with those seats. We were laughing about who on earth could fit in there, somehow I ended up volunteering to have a go. So, all 6' 2" of me attempted to clamber in the back of this Model S. I'm not sure whether it was available to buyers but rear facing seats were shown by Tesla for the Model Y too.
Yes, I got in.
No, you couldn't close the tailgate.
Like duhhh, what were you expecting? It's for kids! But what got me was the difficulty of getting into those seats, by the time the kids were big enough to do so, they would probably be too big to sit in them. A very weird addition, Just another attempt at being quirky by Tesla?
I'm sure my Dad had a Volvo 240 Estate company car many moons ago and the rear-facing seats were a realistic proposition.
Jordie Barretts sock said:
If they were dangerous, then they a) would never have been permitted in the first place and you can bet b) Volvo would never have fitted them.
That was then, this is now. I wouldn’t put my kids in them. Forget all this ‘it’s a tank’ garbage, you seen how easily an old Volvo estate folds up in a hefty rear impact.
Volvo stopped offering them as an option many many years ago… makes you wonder why.
There seems 2 aspects to this.
Clearly modern cars are very much safer than older ones. I don't believe rear facing seats are inherently dangerous, but they do seem rare today, so perhaps I'm wrong.
Personally, I put my kids on the back of my bike, but never rear facing - that wouldn't be safe.
Clearly modern cars are very much safer than older ones. I don't believe rear facing seats are inherently dangerous, but they do seem rare today, so perhaps I'm wrong.
Personally, I put my kids on the back of my bike, but never rear facing - that wouldn't be safe.
Davie said:
Jordie Barretts sock said:
If they were dangerous, then they a) would never have been permitted in the first place and you can bet b) Volvo would never have fitted them.
That was then, this is now. I wouldn’t put my kids in them. Forget all this ‘it’s a tank’ garbage, you seen how easily an old Volvo estate folds up in a hefty rear impact.
Volvo stopped offering them as an option many many years ago… makes you wonder why.
I agree with you. But then I put my child in a car seat in a TVR Cerbera.
Nowadays I wouldn't allow anybody to use such a seat, even if OEM supplied. Just my opinion based on perceived crumple zone. And not based on test data.
If you google around, you'll find abundant data to support the use of rear-facing child seats for however many years the child fits the manufacturer's parameters.
This is not directly comparable to a rear seat in the boot of an estate. But it does remind us of a) the most likely crashes (ie: front and side, not rear) and b) the greater safety of a human body that decelerates into a seat back (and not into a seat belt strap).
Also: There were seats in the boot that were not rear facing. At least over here. From the post-War years into the 1990s. The following from a 1990 Ford Country Squire station wagon.
https://barnfinds.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/P...
I don't like the physics implied by those side facing seats, and I wouldn't have allowed their use in my such car.
Silvanus said:
markymarkthree said:
Thats very different to some afterthought rear facing seats in the boot of a car.ferret50 said:
Seem to remember that the RAF VC10 fleet had rear facing seats....
And that train seats are often the 'wrong' way around...
So why not car seats?
Afterall, judging by current GB driving standards it would not make much difference if drivers faced the rear!
Didn't all RAF Transport Command aircraft have rear facing seats?And that train seats are often the 'wrong' way around...
So why not car seats?
Afterall, judging by current GB driving standards it would not make much difference if drivers faced the rear!
In 1954 I flew home from Iraq in a Hastings that had rear facing seats as did the RAF Brits I worked on in the mid-1960s.
unsprung said:
Nowadays I wouldn't allow anybody to use such a seat, even if OEM supplied. Just my opinion based on perceived crumple zone. And not based on test data.
If you google around, you'll find abundant data to support the use of rear-facing child seats for however many years the child fits the manufacturer's parameters.
This is not directly comparable to a rear seat in the boot of an estate. But it does remind us of a) the most likely crashes (ie: front and side, not rear) and b) the greater safety of a human body that decelerates into a seat back (and not into a seat belt strap).
Also: There were seats in the boot that were not rear facing. At least over here. From the post-War years into the 1990s. The following from a 1990 Ford Country Squire station wagon.
https://barnfinds.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/P...
I don't like the physics implied by those side facing seats, and I wouldn't have allowed their use in my such car.
Don't some Landrovers & Rangerovers have sideways seats in the rear? If you google around, you'll find abundant data to support the use of rear-facing child seats for however many years the child fits the manufacturer's parameters.
This is not directly comparable to a rear seat in the boot of an estate. But it does remind us of a) the most likely crashes (ie: front and side, not rear) and b) the greater safety of a human body that decelerates into a seat back (and not into a seat belt strap).
Also: There were seats in the boot that were not rear facing. At least over here. From the post-War years into the 1990s. The following from a 1990 Ford Country Squire station wagon.
https://barnfinds.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/P...
I don't like the physics implied by those side facing seats, and I wouldn't have allowed their use in my such car.
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