Car seats and airbags

[kymberly]

Hi, (I posted this on the wrong place earlier, oops)

I was wondering if anyone knows about this, can you put a child in a front seat in a forward facing car seat when there's an airbag?

Is it just the rear facing ones that are a no-no with an airbag or is it both types?

Yikes, if not how can I fit 3 under 3's in my tiny corsa?

[snufflepuff]

I think (please dont take my word for it, check first) it is ok to have a forward facing seat if there is an airbag fitted but you must move the carseat back as far as possible.
Can you switch your airbag off?

[paula walsh]

you should go to halfords they are up on all aspects of child car seats they are really helpfull too or you could go on the rospa website it all depends on the age and size of children( I THINK).. look in you car manual because every car if different thats what i always do

[Daftbat]

Yes it is perfectly legal to use a front facing car seat in the front passenger seat. I do it sometimes through necessity but I do push the seat back as far as I can. It is only rear facing ones that are dangerous - and only then when you have an airbag.

[llkbabob]

I personally turn the airbag off if I have to put child in the front and put seat back as far as possible.

Found this:
Q: Can I put a forward-facing child restraint in the front passenger seat if it has an active airbag?

A: It is better not to place a forward-facing restraint in a seat with an airbag; try to avoid this if possible. If it is not possible, then check the advice of the vehicle manufacturer. Find out how far the airbag extends when deployed and ensure that your child is well outside the expansion area. Ensure that the passenger seat is as far back from the airbag as possible, that the child seat is very securely fitted and the child is securely held by the harness or seat belt.

http://www.childcarseats.org.uk/faqs/index.htm#front

http://www.babycenter.com/0_car-seat-safety-air-bags_396.bc#articlesection4

Hope this helps

[acw]

Hello. Think as above. My car said that the dash board needed to be 2feet away from the childs chest so depended on how big the car seat was and how far forward the seat was. As a rule some sites tend to say no as it's easier to do that then go into the ifs and buts of individual cars, plus the safest place to be in a car in a crash is the back seat so if they said the front seat was ok they'd have all kinds of come back!

[shell73]

If one of your children is aged over 3 and you physically cannot fit 3 car seats or boosters in the back then by law they are allowed to sit in the middle as long as the child is comfortable in the position of the seat belt fitting appropiately as it should.

I enquired about this ages ago and this is the feedback i got

Hope that helps
Shell x