Shoulder belts were not required in rear seats of cars until 1990. I don't even know if they are required in RV's today or if just lap belts are required in the rear seats.
I have a 4yo son who moved out of his car seat with a 5 point harness in the fall. The car seat only uses a lap belt to secure it to the seat so we used it in the rear seats with the lap belt. He is now in a booster seat that uses the 3 point seatbelt system in the car. Originally the plan was going to be to put him in the car seat in the RV until he outgrows it. He outgrew it before we even took 1 trip since he turned 4. I took him for a ride to get gas this weekend and I had to put his booster seat in the RV. Where should I put my 4yo son and his booster seat?
I thought about putting him in the front seat where there is a 3 point seatbelt with no air bags (it's an '89). I know this is legal when there are no "rear" seats such as in a pickup or in a van. But I obviously have rear seats. I put him in the booster seat in the rear seat with just the lap belt, but then I thought does the booster seat lose effectivness or even cause harm if not used with a shoulder belt? Should I just put him in the rear seat without the booster seat using only the lapbelt? (it was good enough for me as a kid).
If I do put my son in the front seat my dog will be mad 'cause that is HIS seat, He gets mad when my wife tries to sit up front with me.
Matt O 2006 Skyline Nomad 27' travel trailer. Previously owned 1986 Coleman Columbia / 1992 Coleman Senecca / 1989 Born Free Class C RV.
This is a very good question I can answer it only from a safety standpoint because I am only versed in NY law. I was a highway safety officer for several years before I made it to detective and attended many traffic safety courses. All of the studies that were done leaned towards one common denominator . Children that rode in the rear of a vehicle and wore any type of restrain lap belt or lap and shoulder were 10 times less likely to suffer a fatality. Now with that said a booster seat will definitely help reduce trauma in a Vehicle accident by cradling the neck back and torso of a child even if you only use the vehicles lap belts. If you can use a shoulder belt even better. I know your RV doesn't have air bags but no child or adult for that matter that weigh less then 100 lbs should ride in the front seat of A car equip with air bags unless they can be deactivated ( most new cars have sensors and automatically turn off air bags if you weigh less then the suggested weight) if an air bag were to deploy with a small child in the front seat the force of the airbag deployment could actually snap there neck causing way more harm then the actual accident. It's rare lots of variables have to be right but it has unfortunately happened. I have been on the scene of a few to many serious accidents, but my personal observation was children that rode in the rear of a vehicle and were properly restrained suffered very minor .
injuries, even in crashes with fixed objects. My kids used booster seats with NASCAR style across the shoulder belts until there feet could sit flat of the floor when they were in a regular seat .
Not to be a buzz kill but you can restrain your dog when he rides in the car also, they make a harness that slips over there torso and hooks to the seat belt, most insurance companies will not pay for vet bills if a dog is injured in a car accident . It can be quite costly, There are a few that will. Just my 2 cents .
Hello! I popped in Via google to find info about repairing my pop up roof, and stumbled on your thread! ;D
I am a certified child restraint systems instructor, certified with the Child Passenger Safety Association of Canada. (http://www.cpsac.ca/)
A booster seat will not function correctly on a lap belt only. In a collision, your child's head would strike their knees! The shoulder belt is needed to keep the head excursion within safe (non neck breaking) limits.
The truck has no Airbag, so you can put the child in the front seat with the Lap / shoulder belt in the booster seat safely.
Now I give unsolicited best-practice advice:
Because their bodies are not fully pevic-ly formed, children under the age of 5 are safer in 5 point restraints. I know in Canada, we keep our children in FF harnesses until 65 lbs, but I am not sure about the US seat limits. If your child is at all under 40 lbs (even 39!) they should remain in a harness longer, as they are still small enough to be injured by the seat belt itself in a booster.
http://www.safercar.gov/parent.....rSeats.htm - This looks to be a pretty great US resource!
The dog should also wear a seat belt harness - Dogs are rather firm projectiles. They can be found at petsmart for about $40.
Precious cargo!
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