have 2-seater convertible & need to take 7 year old to school. is this legal? what are safety implications?

Question

would love to know if this is legal. and if it is, what i can do to make this more safe.

Answer 1

what would be illegal about it? are you strapping him onto the roof or something? as long as he's in a seat and buckled in theres not a problem

Answer 2

It's legal as long as he/she's belted in. The only concern is if it is an older car without a weight controlled passenger air bag (the kind that open at full force no matter who's sitting there) the impact of the air bag deploying may injure the child.

If it is an even older convertible and does not have a passenger side airbag then there is no issue.

If you have an airbag and drive the seven year old anywhere make sure he/she always sits back in the seat and does not lean in towards the dash while you're driving.

Answer 3

Since the car is a two-seater, the only two considerations are the airbag and your state's booster seat laws. I

f you have front airbags, you should have a switch to turn it off on the dash, which should use the same key as your ignition.

Depending on how communist your state is, you might need a booster seat. For example, here in Wiscomsin, you need one until your child is eight.

And, no, it is not illegal just because you don't have a back seat. Otherwise, parents could never drive two-seaters, pickup trucks, or other similar vehicles.

Answer 4

Depends on the state laws (or country) if I knew where you are, I could look up more specific child seatbelt laws. I think it's fine, the child might need to be in a booster seat, I know here in Illinois they are supposed to be in a booster seat until they are 8 years old. If the vehicle has only lapbelts in the rear then at 40 pound they can be secured by lapbelts because you can't use boosters with lapbelts. Hawaii they just have to be in one til they are 4 and 40 pounds I believe. Just do a search on your state's child restraint laws, if the child is big enough, and doing so is within the law, then I see nothing wrong with it. Maybe put the top up so the kid doesn't get whipped by the wind.

Answer 5

Its not illegal.

All children under the age of 16 should be in a car that has a back seat. Especially since newer cars with air bags can kill a child that is sitting in the front seat. Air bags are designed to stop an adult from hitting the dashboard or windshield. A childs neck and spine are not developed enough to withstand the force of an airbag.

Answer 6

Not legal to have kid in front seat. The law claims that kid needs to go in back seat to avoid getting smashed by airbag in a collision. Safety implication is that while you are vroom vrooming around in your convertible your kid is in danger of death. If you don't have a back seat someone else needs to drive the kid anywhere. If you get stopped by a cop you could lose your license and then no more convertible trips for you.

Answer 7

7 year old is out of car seat, right? If not it is perfectly legal for child their size, in car seat in front seat. strapped in tightly. If out of seat same thing with seat belts. Several things on market to adjust shoulder straps for child or smaller person. Try auto parts store or dealer. OF course this is not the best method, they should be in car seats in the rear but what are you going to do. Pick up trucks only have one seat too. You definitely need the shoulder strap device, lap belt is not enough.

Answer 8

as long as the child is wearing a seat belt its perfectly legal and as far as safety goes...no dancing while driving, no trying to catch bugs in thier mouth like beetlejuice..hail storms would be bad too..strap the child in and have fun..click it or ticket!

Answer 9

If you have an airbag on the passanger side you need to turn it off. The force of an airbag deploying can kill kids.

Answer 10

it depends on what state you live in. here in illinois they still need to be in a booster seat so i would put the child in a booster seat and just be careful.