Baby seat in pickup truck - front seat - rear-facing seat ?

Question

I'm asking this question in both the baby/parent category as well as the cars/safety category.

We're expecting our first baby in June.

Putting the baby seat in the back seat of my wife's car is no problem.

however, I drive a Pickup with a regular cab (no back seat) - full-size pickup, 2004 Chevy Silverado 1500. The pickup owner's manual says that it's OK to put a child seat in the front seat (passenger side) as long as:

-- (A) the passenger side airbag is shut off (there's a switch on the dash to do this).. and

-- (B) the child is in a rear-facing child seat that is correctly installed, etc.

My question is this - is the rear-facing child seat in the front of the pickup just as safe as the regular seat in the back seat of the car?

Any links to websites or studies, or other web-links with more information would be most appreciated.

THANK YOU !!!

Answer 1

yes and no... the parents as consumers are kinda confused... i know i was!  And i also think the car manufacturers as well as the baby seat manufacurers are too.... the best advise i can give you is this... airbag off for infant in rear facing position in front seat... although the safest place for baby is in the back (because of the air bag) following me so far???

ok... now in the front seatof a pick up ... air bag off...rear facing seat...

i recently purchaced a 2 seater sports car...(i have a 4 year old)  wait till you have to purchase a booster seat!!!!

i definetly suggest you read the manufacurers directions CAREFULLY!!! THERE ARE SOME AUTOS THAT HAVE A LATCH SYSTEM ALSO... the key is to install the seat to the car manual and the carseat manual...

make sure the seat does not move after being installed(foreward or side to side) i know this sounds confusing, but youll get it... i have 4 boys and i get better at it all the time!!!

there should also be a company web site to the product you purchased...and a phone # use it if you have any questions or arent sure if the seat isnt installed properly...

oh one more thing... you may want to protect your  vehicle seat with a towel  under the carseat... i definetly suggest it!!!

good luck to you!!! and congratulations!!!

Answer 2

The back-seat thing is to protect the baby from an explosive airpag deployment, which can kill an infant.  If you can turn off the air bag on the passenger side, or if there is no airbag, then placing a rear-facing child seat in your truck is not a problem.

Answer 3

Try these sites.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/babie...

http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/carseats...

http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.h...