X-POST: Car seats in a pick up truck

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Re: X-POST: Car seats in a pick up truck

Found this info on carseat.org:

Can I put my child in the front seat of a pickup truck?

Many pickup trucks have back seats that are too small for child safety seats. Researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have found that the risk of injury to children riding in the back seat of a compact extended-cab pickup truck is five times higher than when riding in any other vehicle. Injuries appear to be caused by hitting the inside of the pickup.

If you have a larger pickup with a back seat that faces the front of the truck, a safety seat may be installed there if the truck’s manual recommends it and at least 80% of the safety seat’s base sits on the truck seat cushion. You can reduce the risk of injury for forward-facing children by tethering the safety seat. Using a top tether can greatly reduce the chance of a child’s head striking the interior of the pickup.

Installation of a safety seat on a side-facing jump seat is not allowed by any child restraint manufacturer.

If you must install a safety seat in the front seat of a pickup truck, disable the air bag by using the air bag on-off switch. If an on-off switch is not available, you may ask NHTSA to let you have one installed. Until a switch can be installed, do not transport a rear-facing child in the front seat. Some passenger air bags will expand to cover the center seating position, so installing a safety seat in that location may be dangerous to your child. Check the vehicle owner’s manual to find out where child safety seats may be installed. Installing a safety seat in the front seat of any vehicle increases the risk of death to your child by more than 30%, so a pickup truck without a back seat is not the safest choice for transporting a child.

Re: X-POST: Car seats in a pick up truck

Thanks I was curious myself

Re: X-POST: Car seats in a pick up truck

my brother has a 1997 Chevy Pick-Up & my nephew was in the infant seat in the back of the pickup 3 yrs ago. My brother is an OOS PO & would not put his son in there if it was not safe.

My Dad also has a 04 GMC Sierra & had the infant seat in the back also when my nephew was little. Now they have the regular convertible in there.

Message edited 4/20/2009 12:08:49 PM.

Re: X-POST: Car seats in a pick up truck

Re: X-POST: Car seats in a pick up truck

My DH has a 4 door pickup (2008 Nissan Frontier). He only got this truck because it has a backseat and is safe for car seats. We did the research before we bought it last year knowing that children were in our future.