[invidious]

As a parent of young kids, I can’t stress this enough. Don’t make kids under 10 sit in the front. It’s a recipe for disaster.

https://m.rediff.com/news/commentary...5703775e923752

When I notice young kids sitting in the front, I point it out politely to parents. Honestly, no one has ever moved or appreciated what I’ve said.

I think the issue is serious enough to warrant its own thread but I leave it to the wisdom of the mods if they wish to merge it with another.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by invidious

As a parent of young kids, I can’t stress this enough. Don’t make kids under 10 sit in the front.

When I notice young kids sitting in the front, I point it out politely to parents. Honestly, no one has ever moved or appreciated what I’ve said.

How terrible! Honestly, people (overwhelmingly) care two hoots about safety, especially when it needs application of basic common sense as well. I always try and point out the same to known folks, but have been rebuffed many a time.

In this case, the mother's body weight is tragically instrumental in the suffocating her own child. Further, I am afraid to say that in most Western countries, she would have been tried for manslaughter.

[ashkamath]

Happiness over safety or vice versa?

In many countries, the children are not allowed to sit in front passenger seat by the parents due to the risks associated with it. I don't know if there are rules in this regard in other countries, but I have seen that there's a strict policy of not allowing children sit in front passenger seat in other countries.

In India, we have seen kids jutting out of sunroof which is a severe safety risk. The parents in India prioritise their kids happiness over their safety.

Again, most of the Indian car drivers don't think ahead and realise that if a child is seated on the front seat or in the lap of mother, then in the event of a collision/ accident and airbag deploys at incredible speed, the probability of the child getting injured is very high..

Further, the probability of a frontal collision / impact is much higher than from sides or rear and thus the front seat driver and passenger takes the maximum impact while the same is relatively reduced for rear seat occupants.

Then there are 6 airbags standard in Indian cars and that means side curtain airbags too deploys for front seat passengers.

Over that the seat belt may not suitably and snugly hold the kid in place due to kids height. I heard that in some countries, the children should be atleast 14 years old and 4'9" tall to be allowed to sit in front passenger seat of a car.

I have noticed that in Mahindra XUV 3XO, you have the button / option of switching OFF the airbags for front passenger. This could be useful when the front passenger seat is unoccupied and a collision occurs. I don't know if the front passenger seat airbags could be switched off in other car brands too.

I believe it's time to educate the average Indian driver about the risks in allowing a child to sit in front passenger seat or even a mother with a child in her lap. The right and a much safer place for kids is the rear seat. Ofcourse the rear seats come with child isofix seat belts now

Cab drivers must be educated too in this regard and they should politely request the kids to be seated back instead of the front passenger seat.

A decade or so ago, no one in India bothered about safety in a car. Then one car company made it their USP and after a decade or so, now, safer cars is amongst the primary parameters while choosing a car. I have known people who went for a particular brand, for the sole reason that it was perceived as a safer car over other competitors..

I believe a similar awareness is necessary with regard to child safety in the car. We are very quick to demand DRL, sunroof, ADAS and more features for our car while we forget the safety of our kids by allowing them to stand out of the sunroof or sit in front passenger seat.

We are a country where the parents regard happiness of their kids high over safety of their kids. I am sure, with time and education, this will change.

[invidious]

In reply to the above - yes, most countries have strict rules with regards to age/weight of a child and need to be buckled into a child seat at the back. I remember hospitals in the US used to inspect cars before letting parents take home delivered babies to ensure that a child seat is there. I don’t know whether that’s a national law, state law or some insurance related requirement.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by invidious

As a parent of young kids, I can’t stress this enough. Don’t make kids under 10 sit in the front. It’s a recipe for disaster.
…

When I notice young kids sitting in the front, I point it out politely to parents. Honestly, no one has ever moved or appreciated what I’ve said.

Completely agree with you - this is something that really gets me too, specially when I see them in airbag enabled cars.

I’ve politely pointed this out too and my experience is pretty much the same as yours. The ignorance of the risk ranges from the uneducated to the extremely educated and well to do families as well.

For the more educated, I’ve also heard every excuse in the book but they’re really just that - excuses. Nothing that a firm resolve can’t address.

[Rajeevraj]

Such a sad news. Unfortunately in 99% cases (my general estimate) of Indian families in cars:

• The child will be in the spouse's lap in the front. Spouse may be buckled.
• Once the child is 3+, the child is mostly in front and the spouse/family is in the back.
• If the child is in the back, again very minute chance of being buckled. More often than not is sitting/standing in between the front seats.

I have tried tell so many friends who do all of this, maybe 1 out of 10 have changed their behavior.

Even for my kid, I faced stiff resistance and ridicule from family members- Grandparents are the worst in this scenario. Fortunately my wife was with me on this and I resisted the pressure. Never sat in the front seat till she was 12+.

Hope this thread influences at least some parents to change their mind.

[ninjatalli]

Some additional information on the incident - seems like the child, who was on her mother's lap, was suffocated to death after the air bag hit her face and the seat belt got stuck around her neck. I'm guessing the mother wrapped the girl with her under the seat belt for 'safety'. This was a late night incident so it could be possible that the child and/or the mother might have been sleepy or dozed off.

Source: Aisanetnews

[deathwalkr]

"“The car collided with a tanker lorry and the airbag deployed suddenly under the impact of the collision,” police said."

https://theprint.in/india/girl-kille.../2289830/?amp=

Er, isn't that what the Air bag is supposed to do? Deploy in haste?

Kids need to be seated/belted as per their age/height and avoid front seat. And child locks on.

Child seats should be sold at the car dealer point itself and could be part of the dealer kit. Will they use it? That's a different game altogether :(

[mayankk]

My son has not sat in the front seat of any of my cars for over 10 years now, ever since he was born. In fact, he has only graduated to sitting without a car-seat or booster recently.

And though he was the one who picked out a car with a sunroof, never ever has there been any demand of sticking his head out of the sunroof either. This, when everyday he sees kids getting picked up from his school in cars worth about 1-2+ Cr, having a cool drink with their heads sticking out, or sitting in the front seats.

I believe it's a matter of education/understanding. Having read of the cases abroad where airbags killed kids in the front seats way back in automags from the 90s, and the horrific manjha-caused deaths of adults and children alike, I have passed on my better-safe-than-sorry cautiousness to my son. And that's why I never get any objections or pleads for these idiocies.

Our authorities play such massively graphic anti-smoking/anti-gutkha PSAs in movies. I wish they would run something similar related to automotive safety as well. God knows they can find graphic enough imagery to push their point across.

[Aviator_guy]

So sad to hear this. We need more awareness about occupant safety, specially usage of car seat for child and never to carry baby on the lap in front seat. This tragedy could have been averted.

[Ays7]

This is such a relatable thread. I have a toddler, 3.5. We tried really hard to make him sit on a car seat but he simply refuses.

Therefore, as a compromise, my wife sits in the back seat along with him while I "chauffeur" them around. We recently did that with our week long road trip. Sure it feels weird, having the Mrs. sit in the back, and the front seat feels lonely. But I'd rather have that rather than compromise on safety and let my child sit in the front seat, by himself or even on lap of my wife.

It will be an increasing challenge once he gets to 5 Years or older. But we shall cross that bridge once we get there.

[Small Bot]

Originally Posted by Aviator_guy

So sad to hear this. We need more awareness about occupant safety, specially usage of car seat for child and never to carry baby on the lap in front seat. This tragedy could have been averted.

I remember reading a few articles about this incident. All of them uniformly implied that it was the seatbelt and airbags that killed the baby.

No, it was the carelessness of the parents who carried a baby in the front seat, that snuffed out a life before it had a chance to flourish.

I just don't understand why people are not willing to invest in child seats to secure their children.

[krrisdrive]

Originally Posted by Small Bot

I just don't understand why people are not willing to invest in child seats to secure their children.

Ignorance probably. Most of us don't know that babies should not be carried in front row, kids should not pop out their head through sunroof etc. Also, this is not taught during our DL training.

Dealers and ASC are in a good position to educate buyers (young couple / young parents). They can also sell child seats as part of accessory to them. It could be a win-win.

[BhayanaV]

The kid in mother's lap, not in front seat. If he was in front seat, probably would have been injured but might have been saved.

[harishpr]

Same holds good for the parents letting their kids project through the sunroof in the busy traffic and highways. It’s extremely dangerous and whenever I tried to request the parents not to let the kids in sunroof, I was treated with stern face or angry words.