Kiddies Car Seats

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High-Lo

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 7, 2004
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1,798
Location
Kent
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2013 X166 Mercedes GL350, Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet, Porsche 968 Cabriolet
Is it generally considered safe for a child around 1-2 years old to sit in a forward facing baby car seat secured in the front passenger seat?

I have just found out that it is perfectly legal but just need to know if its considered safe as my wife isn't too comfortable with it.

BTW this is for my Porsche and not my Merc.

Cheers,
Steve
 
High-Lo said:
Is it generally considered safe for a child around 1-2 years old to sit in a forward facing baby car seat secured in the front passenger seat?

I have just found out that it is perfectly legal but just need to know if its considered safe as my wife isn't too comfortable with it.

BTW this is for my Porsche and not my Merc.

Cheers,
Steve

I have always put them in the back as it is safer.
 
It is safer for them to be in the back.

If you do want them to sit in the front then ensure the passenger seat is as far back as it will go and more importantly make sure the passenger airbag is disabled.
 
the bigger danger is rearward facing seats in the front with an airbag that isnt disabled. it isnt illegal to sit a child in correct seating, in the front, if thats all you can do.

or is it a porsche cayanne? in which case put them in the middle of the rear seat. well out of harms way and in easy reach if you need to get to them for something.

but, as said before...seat as far back as it can go and disable the airbag.

I was going to say drive carefully.....but i need to know if anyone with children in the front would drive like they are bonkers? I drive really aware when i have the nephew in the merc. and he is not mine....
 
Tigger said:
It is safer for them to be in the back.

If you do want them to sit in the front then ensure the passenger seat is as far back as it will go and more importantly make sure the passenger airbag is disabled.
I believe this is incorrect. The airbag only needs to be disabled if you have a rear facing child seat in the front. A front facing child seat is just fine with an airbag; indeed the lady from mothercare (who helped me fit Andrew's booster seat) said it was safer to leave the airbag on with a front facing child seat.

-simon
 
SimonsMerc said:
I believe this is incorrect. The airbag only needs to be disabled if you have a rear facing child seat in the front. A front facing child seat is just fine with an airbag; indeed the lady from mothercare (who helped me fit Andrew's booster seat) said it was safer to leave the airbag on with a front facing child seat.

-simon
As long as the front facing child seat is set far enough away from the airbag then absolutely, it is safer for it to be on given the protection it affords. The risk is similar to that for those drivers who sit far too close to the steering wheel but with a child the impact of the bag inflating on them at close proximity is greater and the passenger bag is often much bigger. New airbags are being developed that sense how far away the occupants are and inflate accordingly, bloody clever these Scandavians...
 
beware believing anything sales people say at fitting-shops. 99% are fine, but halfords told me that i didnt have isofix in the Citroen Picasso. I even said to him "ok, what are these metal hook things then?" he said he he didnt know but they wernt isofix! told me to get a non-isofix seat and said he had saved me money.

i was 99% sure that the car had isofix as standard and was sure that these metal bars were isofix.... ye and behold they were and we got the safest isofix car seat on the market a couple days later ELSEWHERE!!!

back to your question - i agree with the rest of the guys on here - ok but put seat as far back as poss. i *think* the airbag is ok to be left on if it is front-facing, but i would check it out by phoning the seat manufacturer.

if the seat is to go in the back, then its a good idea about putting it in the middle so its safer in side-impacts. i will suggest to my wife we do that in our picasso....

good luck :)
 
High-Lo said:
Is it generally considered safe for a child around 1-2 years old to sit in a forward facing baby car seat secured in the front passenger seat?

I have just found out that it is perfectly legal but just need to know if its considered safe as my wife isn't too comfortable with it.

BTW this is for my Porsche and not my Merc.

Cheers,
Steve

It is legal. I do it when I take one of our kids in the Boxster.
 
One of the reasons for buying the Merc (and our Saab) was safety. There is lots of primary and secondary safety features. They are both cars with high safety ratings and the safest place in any car is in the back. There is no way that I would take my daughter in our Porsche.
 
BonzoDog said:
One of the reasons for buying the Merc (and our Saab) was safety. There is lots of primary and secondary safety features. They are both cars with high safety ratings and the safest place in any car is in the back. There is no way that I would take my daughter in our Porsche.

yeah safety was a big factor for me too when buying the BMW. I always worry how safe the picasso is compared to the BM. the doors seem much more flimsy than the big 7er. picasso is apparently pretty safe tho.
 
My eldest daughter is 6 and I worry about her being in the front - the danger (as said before) being the force with which the air bag would hit her. I suspect there is no hard and fast rule. I also suspect this is influenced by the Americans airbags which are more powerful as they are designed to safeguard an unrestrained adult.

The likely answer is that front seat right back should be safe but I bet you can't get a definitive answer - who would put their **** in the block?

**EDIT** or chicken on the block for that matter?
 
scumbag said:
the bigger danger is rearward facing seats in the front with an airbag that isnt disabled. it isnt illegal to sit a child in correct seating, in the front, if thats all you can do.

or is it a porsche cayanne? in which case put them in the middle of the rear seat. well out of harms way and in easy reach if you need to get to them for something.

but, as said before...seat as far back as it can go and disable the airbag.

I was going to say drive carefully.....but i need to know if anyone with children in the front would drive like they are bonkers? I drive really aware when i have the nephew in the merc. and he is not mine....

do you say that every time you mention your nephew :rolleyes:
 
I remember when Dad would throw all seven of us on the back of the coal truck and we would be off on our merry way ...hurling coal at passers by....not one of us belted in being thrown all over the back dogs en all, great times, especially when he would drive off and you had to clamber on the back as it was moving, not a kiddie car seat in sight....
 

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