A question of road safety

[gibranalnn]

Hi,
As a movieholic my mom always watches Hollywood movies/US TV series that include driving, roads, US Highways and Interstate highways. In a movie my mom saw a scene where kids are prohibited to use the front passenger seat. Is this true that there is a regulation that kids under 12 years old are prohibited to use front seat in the US?

[myosh_tino]

Hi,
As a movieholic my mom always watches Hollywood movies/US TV series that include driving, roads, US Highways and Interstate highways. In a movie my mom saw a scene where kids are prohibited to use the front passenger seat. Is this true that there is a regulation that kids under 12 years old are prohibited to use front seat in the US?

I know that child safety seats are not to be installed in the front passenger seat because if the airbag were to deploy, it would seriously injure if not kill the child.

[gibranalnn]

^^ well, airbags are now in EVERY US car right?

[sipes23]

When I had a pickup, I had a manual shut off for the passenger airbag and my daughter rode up there for the first 3 1/2 years of her life. And that was ok. If it hadn't been ok, I'm sure the cops at the police department directly across the street would have said something to me sooner or later.

But yes, in standard passenger cars, no one under 12.

[SignGeek101]

When I was 5, I remember sitting in the front seat a few times. It was rare; only when my dad picked me up from school. My house was less than 1 km away on a quiet residential street, so it didn't really matter much. I see kids sitting in the front seat periodically.

It's also 12 where I live.

[vdeane]

I used to sit in the front passenger seat all the time... up until 1997 or so when my parents bought a car with airbags.

[kkt]

Hi,
As a movieholic my mom always watches Hollywood movies/US TV series that include driving, roads, US Highways and Interstate highways. In a movie my mom saw a scene where kids are prohibited to use the front passenger seat. Is this true that there is a regulation that kids under 12 years old are prohibited to use front seat in the US?

Laws like that are state laws in the U.S., so they vary from state to state.  In Washington, kids of 12 or under must use the back seat unless it's unavailable (all back seats taken by large cargo or other kids or the car is a 2-seater).

[The Nature Boy]

AAA has a list of state laws regarding this:

http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/laws/child-passenger-safety/


I'm surprised at how few states specifically have laws that address this actually.

[dfwmapper]

I'm surprised at how few states have nanny laws.

FTFY

If you're too stupid to keep your kids from dying in a car crash because your airbag smashed their heads into the seat, then it's probably good for the gene pool that they won't live long enough to reproduce.

[The Nature Boy]

I'm surprised at how few states have nanny laws.

FTFY

If you're too stupid to keep your kids from dying in a car crash because your airbag smashed their heads into the seat, then it's probably good for the gene pool that they won't live long enough to reproduce.

Not to get political but children deserve the protection of the state if their parent is too stupid to provide it. Even New Hampshire mandates wearing a seat belt for children under 18.

It'd be nanny state if we banned adults from the front seat, children are an entirely different matter.

[SSOWorld]

I'm surprised at how few states have nanny laws.

FTFY

If you're too stupid to keep your kids from dying in a car crash because your airbag smashed their heads into the seat, then it's probably good for the gene pool that they won't live long enough to reproduce.

Not to get political but children deserve the protection of the state if their parent is too stupid to provide it. Even New Hampshire mandates wearing a seat belt for children under 18.

It'd be nanny state if we banned adults from the front seat, children are an entirely different matter.

I agree to a point.  Most states are already nanny states.  but that's a different topic for a different forum.

[vdeane]

Children should not have to live with the negative consequences of their parent's choices (for that matter, nobody should have to live with the negative consequences of anyone's choices).

[Pete from Boston]

I'm surprised at how few states have nanny laws.

FTFY

If you're too stupid to keep your kids from dying in a car crash because your airbag smashed their heads into the seat, then it's probably good for the gene pool that they won't live long enough to reproduce.

It's hard not to sound judgmental in responding to this, but you have to be in a pretty dark place to find a silver lining in kids getting killed in a car crash. 

[TEG24601]

Hi,
As a movieholic my mom always watches Hollywood movies/US TV series that include driving, roads, US Highways and Interstate highways. In a movie my mom saw a scene where kids are prohibited to use the front passenger seat. Is this true that there is a regulation that kids under 12 years old are prohibited to use front seat in the US?

Laws like that are state laws in the U.S., so they vary from state to state.  In Washington, kids of 12 or under must use the back seat unless it's unavailable (all back seats taken by large cargo or other kids or the car is a 2-seater).

It may be the law, but I have never seen it enforced, and been told by officers that they would never enforce it unless there is a compelling reason too.  Just like how they are refusing to enforce 594.

[cpzilliacus]

Children should not have to live with the negative consequences of their parent's choices (for that matter, nobody should have to live with the negative consequences of anyone's choices).

Agreed.

[cpzilliacus]

It's hard not to sound judgmental in responding to this, but you have to be in a pretty dark place to find a silver lining in kids getting killed in a car crash.

Also agreed.

[kendancy66]

In my car the front seat has a sensor that automatically turns the airbag off when the seat occupant weighs under a certain amount like 50 pounds. Even when I put my backpack in the front seat the sensor activates