Small cars and kids in the back of them
Discussion
Currently having (or was having) a real craving for a small, lightweight fun little hatch as a second family car for round town duties mainly. Something like a MINI Cooper S, Suzuki Swift Sport or even VW Up.
Started looking at them when out and about though, and in some cases, there seems less than a foot between the rear seats and end of the car. If I were to put my two year old in there and, even going slowly <30 round town it doesn’t look safe.
A foot or two of car to absorb someone in their Discovery going 30 and looking at their phone as I’m stopped at a red light just doesn’t bare thinking about. I think a couple of years with the family workhorse being a very dense feeling Volvo with several metres behind us has spoilt us somewhat.
Am I just being overly paranoid? Does anyone else out there put their kids in the back of really little cars and have these thoughts?
(Or if they didn’t but after reading this, they do, sorry!
)
Started looking at them when out and about though, and in some cases, there seems less than a foot between the rear seats and end of the car. If I were to put my two year old in there and, even going slowly <30 round town it doesn’t look safe.
A foot or two of car to absorb someone in their Discovery going 30 and looking at their phone as I’m stopped at a red light just doesn’t bare thinking about. I think a couple of years with the family workhorse being a very dense feeling Volvo with several metres behind us has spoilt us somewhat.
Am I just being overly paranoid? Does anyone else out there put their kids in the back of really little cars and have these thoughts?
(Or if they didn’t but after reading this, they do, sorry!
)Donbot said:
The Volvo 940 is ancient though. Not really a fair comparison.
Perhaps not but does make a very good point that the perceived "tank" spec nonsense some sprout about bigger / older stuff isn't always accurate. Though comparing something small and modern, ie a VW Up! with minimal rear overhang to something vast of a similar era, with a long rear overhang... then it's probably fair to say the Up! wouldn't be where I'd want my kids if a Scania decided not to stop. Davie said:
Donbot said:
The Volvo 940 is ancient though. Not really a fair comparison.
Perhaps not but does make a very good point that the perceived "tank" spec nonsense some sprout about bigger / older stuff isn't always accurate. Though comparing something small and modern, ie a VW Up! with minimal rear overhang to something vast of a similar era, with a long rear overhang... then it's probably fair to say the Up! wouldn't be where I'd want my kids if a Scania decided not to stop. It wouldn't worry me around town, though the most recent episode of the BBC Crash Detectives prog was upsetting viewing and makes you think about what can happen in the worst case scenario - albeit that they had parked their Fiesta on the hard shoulder and remained in the car.
Edited by Hub on Monday 4th December 22:00
I was just gonna menton that episode. The Fiesta was absolutely destroyed. I imagine even in a large family saloon it would have been touch and go, but in the Fiesta they didn't stand a chance. 
Quite simply a large modern car will generally be safer than a small modern car, but the chances of you having a collision serious enough for it to make the difference between life and death are (relatively) low I imagine. I guess it's just a quesiton of your own tolerance to risk.
Quite simply a large modern car will generally be safer than a small modern car, but the chances of you having a collision serious enough for it to make the difference between life and death are (relatively) low I imagine. I guess it's just a quesiton of your own tolerance to risk.
At some point you have to accept that there is a risk to anything you do and as pointed out above there is always something bigger and more damaging that can crash into you. To approach it from a slightly different angle, if you have an awareness of what is happening around you (Discovery bearing down on you at a red light) maybe you can compensate and take steps to avoid being crashed into…
Chris
Chris
The back of my (R56) Mini is smaller than my old Up! and I've had adults in the back of both - you certainly wouldn't want to go any distance in the back of the Mini though as it's very tight.
And if there are concerns about big stuff crashing into small stuff, maybe if we banned the big stuff then there wouldn't be an issue (who really needs anything bigger than an Up!??) and the roads would be emptier too
And if there are concerns about big stuff crashing into small stuff, maybe if we banned the big stuff then there wouldn't be an issue (who really needs anything bigger than an Up!??) and the roads would be emptier too
Life is one big gamble. You need to decide what risks you are comfortable with. I went to school in the back bed of a hilux next to a brain damaged collie, and when we had extra passengers rode in the boot of a datsun stanza that was so rusty it was mesmerising to look through the rust holes in the boot floor to watch the road rushing by. I preferred the hilux as my parents were chain smokers but whined like f
king jessies if i cracked a window open to breathe, "the wind noise hurts my ears" s the 2 of them.
My kids usually ride in a large modern suv with 11teen million airbags but they love coming on the back of my motorbikes.
king jessies if i cracked a window open to breathe, "the wind noise hurts my ears" s the 2 of them.My kids usually ride in a large modern suv with 11teen million airbags but they love coming on the back of my motorbikes.
I don’t worry too much about it. Rear-endings tend to be at slower speed, the front car dissipates some of the energy by moving, any injuries are usually limited to whiplash (for adult occupants). That kind of accident is also reducing significantly as systems like AEB become more commonplace.
There’s a reason that EuroNCAP puts such emphasis on forward and side impacts, they’re far more likely to hurt car occupants.
You can fret about nightmare scenarios like being rear-ended by something heavy on the motorway by something that’s not seen you - unfortunately the vast majority of cars will end up a LOT shorter if that happens.
There’s a reason that EuroNCAP puts such emphasis on forward and side impacts, they’re far more likely to hurt car occupants.
You can fret about nightmare scenarios like being rear-ended by something heavy on the motorway by something that’s not seen you - unfortunately the vast majority of cars will end up a LOT shorter if that happens.
georgeyboy12345 said:
The knack is to not get crashed into
ScoobyChris said:
At some point you have to accept that there is a risk to anything you do and as pointed out above there is always something bigger and more damaging that can crash into you. To approach it from a slightly different angle, if you have an awareness of what is happening around you (Discovery bearing down on you at a red light) maybe you can compensate and take steps to avoid being crashed into…
Chris
Yep true but easier said than done if you’re boxed in at the lights and the more and more people I see seemingly unable to drive without clutching their phone in their hand makes me think it’s more likely to happen! Chris
sjg said:
I don’t worry too much about it. Rear-endings tend to be at slower speed, the front car dissipates some of the energy by moving, any injuries are usually limited to whiplash (for adult occupants). That kind of accident is also reducing significantly as systems like AEB become more commonplace.
There’s a reason that EuroNCAP puts such emphasis on forward and side impacts, they’re far more likely to hurt car occupants.
You can fret about nightmare scenarios like being rear-ended by something heavy on the motorway by something that’s not seen you - unfortunately the vast majority of cars will end up a LOT shorter if that happens.
Very good point that, hurrah for technology There’s a reason that EuroNCAP puts such emphasis on forward and side impacts, they’re far more likely to hurt car occupants.
You can fret about nightmare scenarios like being rear-ended by something heavy on the motorway by something that’s not seen you - unfortunately the vast majority of cars will end up a LOT shorter if that happens.
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