Can a 5 yr old fit in a Caterham?

[phn]

Thinking of buying a Caterham style car, but would also like my 5 yr old Son to be able to ride in it as well.

Given that it has 4 point harness, is it possible / legal for a 5 year old to be correctly belted in?

If not, might have to look for other slightly less mad fun car!

Cheers!

Philip

[casbar]

Used to take my son out, but that was before child seats etc. But it really depends on how big the child is. Also, doesn't a 5 year old have to be in a child seat

So if the question is, does a child seat fit, don't know

[finmac]

Have been taking my kids out for years, since they were around 4 or 5 years old. I just used to harness them into the 6 point harnesses as tight as possible and all was well... they loved (and years later still do love) the experience!

[Tango7]

There are a few seven owners who take their little kids out. I started with my youngest at 2 years old with the narrowest seat I could find in Halfords (with built in 4 point harness). For the last few years we use a piece of dense foam that is about 4-5 inches deep and this lifts him easily so that the normal car harnesses are fine.

T

[Tango7]

BTW the kids love it and meant that we had to get two sevens in the end for the four of us to go out together!

[racecardoctor]

I've taken my 5 (now 6 years old) a few times, using a booster which fits in the cloth seats I have - using the harness . Only problem is she cannot quite see out of the windscreen - but still loves it.

[R400]

I take my 5 year old out in mine all the time.Last time we got home she was asleep!!

[Bobo W]

and not all 7-esque cars have harnesses so there's a bit of freedom there.

While I suppose using harnesses is not strictly speaking legal you need to ask the question whether you are happy with how secure they are and then take them. They definitely wont forget it.

Our P&T carry cot fits quite snugly in the boot of my 7 but perhaps their should be a minimum age.

[tel777.]

I also would like to take my 5 year old out in mine. I have tillet seats, has any one found a solution for these?

What response do you think i'd get if I pitched up along side a traffic cop and just asked the question? Would he sit on the fence, give advice or just book you for waking him up?

Tel

[sjr-997]

good question ! also have a six year old...neither of our car seats fit the tillet seat of my R300. i was thinking of some foam as well and making sure the harnesses are tight.

[balls-out]

I used to take mine out at that age. Booster seat underneat and I used a strap across the 2 shoulder belts (it was 4 pt) so that they were closer together.

My favourite quote, from before I replaced the 4 inch exhaust, was 'Daddy -that noise nearly blew my boots off'

[catgreenhorse]

Yes, in Tillets I've used a Volvo branded booster cushion in a couple of my 7's. It sits the child up but allows sufficient room for harnesses to be a good fit. Don't forget ear defenders for young kids ears, esp with K , VX or XF side exit exhausts. My 6 year old loves it, her elder brother just fell asleep!
Rich

[JohnLatham]

When I took my nine year old stepson out in my Caterham Fireblade (a few years ago) he cried. A lot. Mind you, so did my Mum.

Maybe it's my driving.

John

[Rosco]

I fitted my Porsche seat in my R400 Duratec for my 5 year old. My only concern was that if we did have a head on, the harnesses aren't really tight enough for me to be 100% sure it will hold him in. Unless you were to pull them too tight and crush the poor little blighter that way, which is no good either.

Anyway, I took him round the block and he absolutely loved it. Obviously I didn't go too mad, but gave it beans in 1st and 2nd for him. Seeing his face light up does it for me, but if anything was to go wrong, I'd sooner be in our beemer. As we all know, it doesn't have to be you at fault in an accident, and when it's something as precious as our children, I'd sooner be safe rather than sorry for the rest of my life.

Do it, but please be very careful and safe.

[JohnLatham]

Rosco said:

if anything was to go wrong, I'd sooner be in our beemer. As we all know, it doesn't have to be you at fault in an accident, and when it's something as precious as our children, I'd sooner be safe rather than sorry for the rest of my life.

Do it, but please be very careful and safe.

I don't know that driving your children in a Caterham is any worse than driving yourself, given that you presumably want to avoid orphaning them.

That said, proper safety in Caterhams is not particularly easy to achieve. Even if you have a full cage and 5+ point harnesses, your arms could get mangled in a roll (unless you have arm restraints), and you need the right clearances between (padded) cage and head/helmet to avoid braining yourself on it. I also heard about risks of floors getting punctured unless you have additional protection there.

Sometimes on trackdays I start thinking this stuff through and freaking myself out.

But ISTR reading about Roger Green having a bad smash where a car drove into him at a junction, and he came out OK (I think the lack of mass helped in that instance).

John