Looking for common sense:

Seems like it would be safer to have a child in a booster seat in the front seat than in the rear seat. My son is 8, and even with the front seat moved as forward as possible, there's not much room back there, especially in case of an accident.

Opinions?

 

why might i ask are you using a booster seat? i know that i have had friends ride in the back seat and they say its not all that bad and actually quite comfortable with all things considering.

 

Back seat is safer for a kid. He might be getting big enough to not need a booster. My son is 6 so maybe he isn't old enough yet for this issue to be a problem for me.

 

According to safety experts, the seat belt has to come across the chest to properly restrain the child, and a booster seat is needed until the child is 57 inches tall.

 

That's the conventional wisdom for most cars; not sure it applies to a sports cars like the RX8.

In an accident, the front seat would have more room before legs are pinned and you get the airbag benefit.

 

the safest place is the back seat. he is protected there by the curtain air bags as well as by the structure of the car. plus you have the child seat anchors. if the booster he is in makes you feel he is pushed too far forward re-think the seat you have.

you dont want the front airbag going off in the face of an 8 year old.

 

but you do not want a small child to b hit with the airbag it could hurt them even more....if using a booster seaat leave the child in the back!

 

Booster seat laws by state: http://www.statehighwaysafety.org/ht...fety_laws.html

 

An airbag hitting a small child can kill them or cause serious neck/head injury.
I have a 3 yr old, I have a recaro booster he sits in (occasionally). My 8 is not a primary transport of my son though. He is usually in the wifes Camry. As a family we drive in the Camry.
If you are that concerned the absolute safest is a sedan where the child can sit inthe center in the back. Buy a second car. Honestly the RX-8 is not a family car. If we had only one car it wouldnt be an 8. Luckily thats not the case I get my own car.

 

Also remember that the air bag on the passenger side will disable below a certain weight... not sure what it is offhand but i'm sure someone can find out and post it for us.

 

^ yes, but I would imagine and 8 yr old with a booster seat would weigh enough to set off the air bag

 

Funny thing is................

Governmint intrusion again.

Most of the people in the world never used a booster seat.

 

Most of the time the weight threshold is 80lbs.
It has been observed though that many factors can cause the weight to read higher than the occupnat actually is.
Such as a hard bump etc.

 

Thanks for the answers.

Most of the time, my son is in my wife's car; he's in my 8 maybe once a week for 2-3 hours. He likes riding in the front where he can tell me how to drive.

 

not on 2004s and 2005s. it wasnt implemented until 2006 MY

 

Herzog told me all RX-8's came that way No way I believe them over you though.

 

Lol, most of the people in probably don't have too good of airbags also.

 

Govt is not all bad. Seat belts are good. Child seats are good. Seat belts and child seats save lives.

 

well what they said is true- from a certain point of view.

 

It sounds to me like the booster seat you have might not work well in the RX-8. My 13 month old sits in a convertible baby seat without any trouble, and my parents were able to sit in the back seat without any trouble on a trip from Stamford, CT to Ridgefield, CT (about 25 miles each way on back roads) and back again. I'm presuming my dad is a bit bigger than most booster seats, so I'm guessing the issue might be with the particular booster seat you've got (though I am by no means certain of that and am not, in any way attempting to cast aspersions).

 

Either the passenger air bag is disabled by weight or not. Can not say I'm surprised getting bad info from a dealership though. For the most part I am happy with them and will continue to take my car there. Really it is my fault for not researching it and taking their word for it. Just irritates me because I have let my son ride up front thinking the air bag was disabled

 

well lets put it this way- if it says so in your manual and the little light comes on that says "airbag disabled" then it does if not then no it doesnt

dealer people only talk about "now" and often they are wrong about that.

 

I have an 04 and dont have any light or anything to tell me it's disabled so i dont' believe mine has it.

 

right you dont


now the 09s are different still. they use a "smart" front airbag system that adjusts the deployment pressure based on passenger weight AND driver position.

not just on or off but a range of adjustment in between

 

my six year old son sits in the back, i just move the passenger seat forward to give him lots of room.