My friend puts her baby rear facing in the front seat

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Assuming she has a backseat, you have to tell her it’s against the law.

This.

depending on where she lives, it's not. in DC it isn't. my european neighbors do this as well.

[Anonymous]

it's also legal in maryland as long as air bag is not active

[Anonymous]

It is a major safety issue if she is doing this in front of an active airbag. There are a lot of gray areas in child passenger safety but this is not one of them.

[Anonymous]

OP here.

We are in Virginia and she drives a new ish Nissan SUV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

We are in Virginia and she drives a new ish Nissan SUV.

Then it is illegal. I would just be casual about it like "hey I know it's a pain to have them in the back because you can't reach when they are crying etc but I would hate for you to get a ticket - just FYI in Virginia they have to be in the backseat if they are rear facing."

if she continues then myob.

[Anonymous]

Or you could just tell her the facts - if they’re in an accident the baby is more likely to die or be severely injured in the front seat than the back. As another PP said, this is not a gray area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or you could just tell her the facts - if they’re in an accident the baby is more likely to die or be severely injured in the front seat than the back. As another PP said, this is not a gray area.

Is that actually true though?

the move to the backseat had to do with airbags becoming standard equipment in cars on the passenger side. The inflating airbag hit the car seats and caused serious injuries ( possibly deaths ?) Prior to that back, in the 80's and early 90's, the guidance and perhaps even the law in some places was to put a child in a rear facing seat in the front seat only.

[Anonymous]

If it's a new-ish vehicle, it has sensors on the seat and will turn off the airbag if the weight is under a certain limit, and this is one of the reasons.

Still a lot safer in the backseat, but not necessarily illegal _if_ the airbag is off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or you could just tell her the facts - if they’re in an accident the baby is more likely to die or be severely injured in the front seat than the back. As another PP said, this is not a gray area.

Is that actually true though?

the move to the backseat had to do with airbags becoming standard equipment in cars on the passenger side. The inflating airbag hit the car seats and caused serious injuries ( possibly deaths ?) Prior to that back, in the 80's and early 90's, the guidance and perhaps even the law in some places was to put a child in a rear facing seat in the front seat only.

Passengers of any type and seat, including adults, are safer in the back seat. There's more "car" in front of you to protect in a head-on collision.

[Anonymous]

Wow OP you would call the police on a new friend? What in the actual F. Just be an adult and tell her it's illegal and you don't want her to get in trouble. Did you guys all see the case where the mom had the baby in a car seat in the front seat, the car was struck by a cop who was going extremely fast, and the baby died? Not only did the cop not get in trouble, the mom was arrested for negligent homicide. I imagine the same would happen if something happened to the baby in an accident with anyone. Please tell your friend and stop thinking about calling the police on people, especially someone who sounds like they're a minority.

[Anonymous]

No, I wouldn’t actually call the police on her!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

We are in Virginia and she drives a new ish Nissan SUV.

OP the safety issue is that a newish Nissan SUV would have air bags. You shouldn't put a car seat where there are front air bags because of what could happen if they deployed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Assuming she has a backseat, you have to tell her it’s against the law.

Something like omg my coworker got a ticket for having her baby forward facing too soon! She’s so upset! I know Larla is rear facing but did you know that’s not legal when you have a backseat available?

Ugh why the song and dance? If you're going to tell her, just tell her. What you posted is obnoxious. Either just say "hey Sarah, just an FYI that it's illegal to have Larla in the front seat. I wouldn't want you to get a ticket or for something to happen if you were in a car accident and you didn't know".

You can also tell her that it used to not be illegal but now it is. My sil put my niece (who is now 30) in the front seat rear facing. She is sad they changed the law.

The law changed because of airbags which make the front seat very dangerous for a rear facing child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or you could just tell her the facts - if they’re in an accident the baby is more likely to die or be severely injured in the front seat than the back. As another PP said, this is not a gray area.

Is that actually true though?

the move to the backseat had to do with airbags becoming standard equipment in cars on the passenger side. The inflating airbag hit the car seats and caused serious injuries ( possibly deaths ?) Prior to that back, in the 80's and early 90's, the guidance and perhaps even the law in some places was to put a child in a rear facing seat in the front seat only.

“Infants in rear-facing car seats are the most at risk because their heads are so close to the dashboard. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) warns parents never to put a rear-facing car seat in a front seat with an air bag. The AAP says any child under 20 pounds must be in a rear-facing car seat for proper protection.“

https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=air-bags-and-kids-1-986

[Anonymous]

So what’s your plan, OP?