What’s really the safest seat in a car? An auto expert weighs in.
I Call the hunting rifle! has long been a typical battle cry during stacking in a car. The term is prior to cars entirely, going back to the Far West when the passenger seated next to a diligence driver would wear a very literal hunting rifle. Nowadays, there is still a certain cachet to sit next to the driver, even if the position no longer requires firearms.
If security is your main concern, however, you may want to reconsider the call “hunting rifle”. Being a driver side can have real risks in an emergency situation, which raises the question: which car seat is the surest? Where your finish can potentially save your life, although it is far from the only factor.
The safest seat of a car “also depends on the vehicle in which you are,” explains Byron Bloch, an automotive security expert and defender. The nature of a crash also plays a role. “Is it a working accident?” Is it a secondary impact? Is this an impact before? “
Here is what you need to know about how to choose the safest vehicle and where to sit in it.
Why the placement of the seats counts
“As a preface, there is no universal surest seat that applies to each car, mini-gourmette, SUV and van,” explains Bloch. That being said, there are strong statistical evidence that a seat has a slight edge above the rest. “The central position of the rear seat would be the safest because you are the most distant from the intrusion or the penetration of the lateral impact.”
According to a study which analyzed each fatal accident in the United States between 2000 and 2003, the risk of survival in the rear central seat is on average 25% higher than in other positions of the car.
The data becomes even more convincing when you look at young passengers. It is of public notoriety that you should never, never, a child sit on the front seat. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends waiting for children to be 13 years old to let them go up the hunting rifle (no matter how much they beg it earlier). Indeed, airbags are calibrated with adult bodies weighing approximately 150 pounds. Children’s bones are softer and can easily crack when struck with an airbag deployed at 200 miles an hour.
But it is not enough to put a small child on the back. Another study, based on automotive insurance complaints from December 1, 1998 to December 31, 2006, revealed that children aged three and under had a risk of injury to 43% if they were sitting in the rear as opposed to the side. In short, if you travel with a little passenger, be sure to put them in the safest seat of your car: the background.
It is not the only thing to think
Choosing where to sit can have a real effect, but Bloch warns that it is more important to choose the vehicle as sure as possible. After studying problems and fought for safer cars for about 50 years, he includes traps.
“You could reasonably assume that each car manufacturer produces a vehicle quite comparable to the others in terms of security,” explains Bloch. “But there are major differences, because federal engine safety standards are only minimum requirements. So as long as you make the minimum, you can always sell your vehicle in America.”
Often, the minimum is not enough, which is why it is so important to ask the right questions at the automotive dealer. To start, make sure that the airbags of side curtains protect each seat. Unlike the front airbags, the risk of injury to children is quite minor of these side airbags, as long as they are in car seats or curly.
“Some vehicles will have them for the driver’s row,” explains Bloch, but not all. “And then there are two rows behind them in a SUV. You must make sure that the airbags of the side curtain protect all the passengers from all the rows.”
Think of windows and rooftops
Another feature you want is the laminated glass. Unlike the soaked glass, which is easily breaking, the laminated glass is made up of two pieces of thick glass sandwiches a type of lasting resin called polyvinyl butyral (PVB) and is much more likely to hold together during the impact. The laminate glass was used for the first time for windshields in 1927. It continues to be the standard for the front windshield, but because it is more expensive, many car manufacturers use tempered glass for side windows.
“You want all the side windows and the sunroof to be made of laminated glass,” explains Bloch. “Because the tempered glass is immediately breaking in thousands of small glass pebbles.”
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Finally, you want to make sure that your car has a strong enough roof so as not to collapse in a working accident. “Whatever the type of vehicle you want, ask the [car dealer]”What is the strength / weight ratio of the roof of this vehicle you want me to buy and risk the life of my family [in]? ‘Said Bloch.
You will find cars on the market with a 2.5 -base / base ratio, but you are looking for 4.0 or more. This tells you that the roof can withstand the weight of the vehicle four times before it crashes five inches. As long as all passengers are solidly curly, this considerably increases the chances of survival in a working accident.
“Vehicles that have safer and stronger roofs are at least 4.0, some are even 5.0 or more,” explains Bloch. “It tells you that the manufacturer cares about your safety if there should be an accident.”
In short, it is advantageous to be intelligent when it comes to choosing the vehicle to drive and where to place your passengers. Take advantage of buying the car as sure and be sure to keep children or passengers more vulnerable in the back of the background.
This story is part of popular sciences Ask us anything seriesWhere we answer your most bizarre and burning questions, from the ordinary to the wall. Do you have something you always wanted to know? Ask.
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