[akochar]

Well. a couple of points here:

1. In my opinion, if its a hatchback - front passenger seat is better and in case of Sedan, rear seat is better.
2. Reason for above being that in case of hatch, you dont have enough protection from behind.
3. Airbags may not open always, so if we just have to go by probabilities, i would rely on vehicle's structural strength
4. Regarding driver's behavioral point - that he will try to save himself first. I don't particularly deny that point, but its dificult to say which seat will be safer because of that. Assuming that he can see an accident happening and will try to save himself, in that case its difficult to judge the probability of him banging the left passenger side first or seat behind him (it will actually depend upon the direction of collision)

So, i go for passenger seat for hatch back and rear seat for sedan. (Assuming all are using the 3 point seat belt)

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by GTO

To me, the safest seat is the driver's seat . There's no one else whose driving I trust more than my own!

The driver's seat is the safest seat and I agree with GTO. Out of these 2 choices, I feel both have their own pros and cons. In case of a sedan, a rear passenger on seat behind passenger seat, properly belted up may have better safety preposition in either a front crash or rear ending but same can't be said in case of a hatchback. Similarly, if in event of an overlap crash while overtaking from left which we see quite often on our highways, the front passenger will bear the brunt if driver tries to save himself.

If someone is not belted up on either of the seats, none of the seats is safe.

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

For a child seat ,I would recommend the rear middle seat , away from all the airbags.
Could be wrong but this is my opinion.

I beg to differ. The other day, I was reading the manual of Brezza and saw this. The middle seat is not recommended in any case for a child seat.

[avdhesh15]

Voted for front passenger seat. Most of the reasons have already been mentioned but couple of the ones for me are company to the driver to prevent dozing and presence of airbags (in our "regular" cars). Regardless to say, the assumption is that regardless of the seat, you would be buckled up!

Here is an article that I came across which searching for this topic: LINK

[bullrun87]

https://youtu.be/hDBfJGuDf-I

A fifth gear video where they try to determine whether the front or rear seat is safer in a head on Collison using two dummies.

[centaur]

I would be on seat A. Primarily I can see what is happening on the road and can brace myself for any events. Secondly, like others pointed out, most cars have passenger side airbags on the respective variants and that's a little consoling.

[Aditya]

For decades it was a given that the back seat of a car is the safest place in a crash. But that’s no longer certain, as advances in seatbelt technology up front have been slow to jump to the back seat.

Safety researchers now have new recommendations about what to buy and where to sit, highlighting vehicles whose rear seats have the kind of sophisticated seatbelts that have protected front-seat riders for roughly a decade.

Those belts tighten up when sensors detect a crash is imminent. They also can loosen a bit if the occupant is pressing against the belt so hard that the belt itself might cause an injury.

If belts with this better technology aren’t available in the back seat, people 55 and older should sit in the front of newer vehicles with those more sophisticated belts, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Researchers say seatbelts in most rear seats lack these so-called load limiters, which means they can’t loosen up. So, in a frontal crash, the belt itself can cause chest, abdominal or spinal injuries, according to a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Researchers investigated frontal crashes that killed or seriously injured 117 rear-seat occupants between 6 and 92 years old.

Researchers say improvements are needed because the back is likely to be occupied more often, with people such as older adults who have given up driving or passengers using ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft. The safety of the back seat could become a bigger focus with autonomous vehicles.

And within a few years it may be possible for consumers to learn which models best protect back-seat occupants. By 2022, the insurance institute hopes to have a back-seat crash test, allowing buyers to compare new models.

Technically, the back seat did not get more dangerous. The front seats just kept getting safer.

Front-seat occupants experience most of the force of a frontal crash. Those in the back have the advantage of distance.

Other studies have noted that adults 55 and older — who tend to have more fragile bones — can be injured by the belts. But the institute’s study points to risks for children

Researchers and the highway safety agency agree that children under 13 should still sit in the back because crashes are complex events and that while improvements are needed, the back seat is still safest for them over all.

And while the institute study found that seatbelts can cause serious injuries, a 2014 institute study showed there is a far greater danger in not wearing one. That hazard includes being thrown into the occupants up front, injuring them.

It is possible to put seatbelts like those up front in the back seat, and a few automakers are doing that. It’s not as simple as using the exact same technology, however. When the belt loosens, for example, it may allow the head to move too far forward and hit the back of the front seats. In the front seat there’s an airbag to protect the head as the force limiter eases its grip. There’s no airbag in the back seat, and putting one there is tricky because the front seats aren’t stationary.

Source: The New York Times

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line.

[dark.knight]

It is true that back seats are given least importance, least creativity and least innovation and that has been the case for quite some time.

Its been a while since I've sat in a truly comfortable back seat, most sedans have them very low and then the seatbelt grinds your neck ( I hate that, have experienced it in many cars). SUVs are kind of good in this regard. What is required is to have truly well-made back seats first, with good squab support, high seating, good thigh support and then my suggestion is this - put all the seat belt locks at the base of the seat about 1 inch below the cushion instead of a plastic extension that squiggles and screeches and moves about and digs into the spine when seated on it, not to mention that these plastic extension handles can be easily put away into the back preventing them from being used.

Also since most cars (even the biggest of them) these days are effectively 4 adult seaters, why not carve out a nice bolstering for the 2 adult individuals so that aged and young alike can sit in nice comfort like the front passengers? Also why is lumbar support SO SORELY lacking in rear seats these days is a mystery.

Create a good space and people will automatically flock into it. If uncomfortable, people wont buckle up and won't sit in their designated space in the back. Yes, pre-tensioner seat belts are a must in today's age with such technology, without it the car must be penalized a couple of stars in the safety ratings, that'll get them moving, adjustments in the side airbags can be done to inflate just in front of the back of the front headrest (whoa).

[GTO]

To me, the safest seat is the driver's seat because I trust my own driving over anyone else's .

If travelling as a passenger - even in Uber or Ola - I pick the front passenger seat. Reasons:

- NYTimes is talking about 5-star cars. In a Honda Amaze or Grand i10, airbags are only at the front. In cars whose seatbelts have pre-tensioners & load limiters, they are also usually at the front.

- Rehaan once told me of how his cab driver fell asleep while driving, and he was able to correct the steering from the front seat. Try doing that from the backseat .

- The front seat offers me more legroom & a recline-adjusting backrest.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by GTO

If travelling as a passenger - even in Uber or Ola - I pick the front passenger seat. Reasons:

+1.

Also to add, a majority of the cabs have the seatbelts stashed away somewhere underneath the rear bench. I find it a struggle to get it working if seated in the rear - whereas no such issues with the front seats.

[V.Narayan]

Because most occupants in the West and Japan sit in the front seat the rear seats have not received the attention they deserve either in terms of lumbar support, angle of the back rest or quality of the seat belts. With Uber this may change - maybe. Which seat is safer - it depends - those two famous words - on availability of side airbags at the rear; on the nature, severity, and direction of the crash; and the size, health and age of the occupant concerned. Frankly there is no correct answer. The only thing I can conclude is that the rear seats need upgrades.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by GTO;

To me, the safest seat is the driver's seat because I trust my own driving over anyone else's

I am like GTO. As far as I am concerned , I am the safest driver south of Vindyas. While traveling in other cars which lack the bells and whistles like pretensioned and load balanced seat belts and air bags, the choice would be the back seat behind the driver.

Most rash taxi drivers would be very careful when it comes to scraping their side.

I read somewhere that the safest place in a car is the passenger side well. A dog in the passenger well was not even scratched when the rest of the occupants had serious injuries.

[Guna]

I feel back seats are still safer. Chances of various components intruding in to the cabin are more at the front. If the crumple zone doesn't function too well, the immediate impact is on the front passengers. In a car which doesn't have knee airbags, knees are the first body part to get affected even at moderate crashes. Shattering glass can also cause injuries.

[bharatbits]

Voted Rear Left.

You are well cocooned in this seat.

1. Most important is to get buckled up whichever seat it is.
2. I try to halt all long road travels by 7pm. Driver, be it myself or a chauffeur, dozing off at the wheel is minimized.
3. I can't trust anyone's driving abilities more than mine. If I were to rely on a driver I will start with zero trust and build as months complete to let him drive without my instructions.

[silverado]

On Highways - i would like to be in rear left seat.You can converse with driver and also keep an eye on driving.It also keeps me relaxed, since i end up Psuedo driving if i am seated in front.I can never fall asleep if i am seated in front seat.

Even from rear, its best to keep an eye ahead on the road so that you can react in case calamity strikes.

In City, i prefer front seat, since speeds are low and its the most comfortable seat even in Wagon R and you get the best ride here. Our commute in city has been made safer by traffic.

Still one thing is for sure, you cannot at all times be seated on the seat you like.