Baby seat restraints and seat belts

[ssberlina]

Guys, and I have mentioned on another thread, I have been looking at few of the new cars and suv's on the market with a baby seat in mind.

Everything I have read recommends that the baby capusle/seat is best located in the middle of the rear seat, however most of the car manufacturers seem to be designing for the seats to be located on the sides by making the centre location difficult or impractical. A few of the problems I have noted are as follows:

1. If a baby seat is installed on cars with split rear seats then the split function becomes unuseable as the baby seats are too wide to prevent the seats to be folded. This is the case with both 60/30 and the 50/50 splits.
In a commodore the pass through also become unuseable (where it is available that is, I note that the lack of a pass through on the monaro is a pain but that is another topic as the monaro doesnt even have a centre seat position in the back). :confused:

2. One of the other common problems I found with a baby seat in the middle was that a number of the new cars have the shoulder strap for the centre seatbelt coming off the roof and as noted on the other thread, the anchor point at the back of the cargo area. If you have a baby seat permanently mounted in the centre position then your rear vision would be inpeded by the seat belt and you cannot get the pram etc in the boot due to the anchor straps. (Have a look at the astra anchor point). :bash:

So in summary when you are designing the next commodore with the rear split seats, can you ensure that the shoulder strap for the centre seat position comes out of the top of the seat or shelf (not the roof in the hatch back model) and that the split function is not made redundant by a baby seat. The anchor point on the rear shelf is fine for the sedan but make it close to the rear seat (not on th roof) so that the cargo area is clear. :confused:

Another idea !!!! What about designing a Holden baby seat that actually fits on the seat as well. Most of them have flat bases that dont come close to fitting the profiles of the seats so they have to be put on towels or crushed into the seat so they dont rock.
These may not affect a lot of people but I can tell you from first hand that the current designs on the market piss a lot of parents off.

If you do take some of this on board then for heaven sakes advertise the fact not like the pathetic effort done to advertise the Holden Assist ( now mostly defunct due to poor sales) and now the virtually non existent advertising of the brake upgrade packages. ( Only lucky to stumble upon them on the web)

Enough for now. :D

Cheers

[BLACK 346]

Some good points there. Just a little tip for you,
you will want to put towels or a blanket under
the baby seat regardless of whether it rocks,
as they rub on the seat over time and wear
through the fabric. I found out the hard way
with 2 seats at once :(

[MELS]

You are right most of the baby seats these days don't sit flat on the back seats. The manufacturers have to make them to standards and the bases that they come with are yes, as you say, flat, but this is as they are designed to the recommended standards. Most of the middle range + baby seats today come with a rear seat protector that you place under the seat to protect your vehicles upholstery if not you can buy them separately. Also you can get an authorised modifications guy to come out and make you a new anchor point if you require one closer to your rear seat in a hatch.

[Holden]

Child restraints are a major issue for Holden. We've been doing a lot of work and research in this area to improve children's safety. Kiddie seats are often an important consideration for day-to-day drivers, no matter how hot the ride.

The issues raised in this thread are spot on. Our research found that more than 70 per cent of child restraints are not fitted or used properly, so we set up a free mobile child seat safety inspection service in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide which parents can arrange to have to come to their childcare centre or kindergartens (1800 223 076).

It's not quite the usual "how many kW, how much Nm" discussion for this forum but new car owners are usually parents as well!

[Andrew297]

One thing that AMAZES me as Commodore is a family car is that there isnt a "Door Open" warning light. The kids shut the door and its only on the first latch yet the inside light goes out and you have no idea that the door isnt shut properly until you are moving. Every other car has this feature and it is definately a safety thing.

[mido2k]

I recently had my seat fitted in NSW by an Authorised Safety Restraint & Child Seat Fitter (RTA Approved)

The guys there said it made no difference where the seat is located, just as long as it is fitted properly.

Ive done a bit of searching, thus why i am replying to an almost 2 year old thread..

Where is the best location/safest.. i dont really utilise the back seat arm rest, and at the moment, the seat is behind the passenger seat, so if im driving by myself i can look over my shoulder to check on my daughter, but of late people have been telling me i should have it on the middle seat..

Can anyone tell me where it should be, or it makes no difference as long as its fitted properly....
Which at the moment, the seat wont budge at all...

Thanks

Paul

[Spammy]

What is the view on younger kids (4 yrs old) in the passenger's seat of a Ute with driver's and passenger's airbags?? Keep in mind here are restraint hooks on the rear shelf of a ute but I'm not sure if that is an all clear to put a kids seat in the front.

Is there a switch somewhere to disable the passenger's side airbag ...I know Audi have this on their cars.