We don't have children so maybe I need another viewpoint on this. My husband and I like to take his favorite to niece to dinner sometimes. She's 14, about 5'0" or maybe a tad taller, and not quite 100lbs. Her dad (hubby's brother-in-law) is a bit of an a-hole, and tells her she can't ride in the front seat of their car until she's over 100lbs. Hubby and I think this is BS.

Now when we used to take her out, we'd all be in the front seat of an old Silverado (no airbags though) and her dad never said a word. I told hubby that next time we take her out, I'm tempted to let her ride in the front seat...just because. Of course, she would be wearing her seat belt, front seat or back.

Is there *really* a danger to teens?

 

i don't think age really matters, it's the size, if she's smaller the airbag can have some negative effects on her just because of the force it comes out at. I would rather have her hit by an airbag than the dash though.

My airbags malfunctioned in my truck during my 60mph+ accident and it did not feel good, i would have much rather of had the airbags go off.

In the end it's your call, being shorter she may have her face right in the way of where the airbag will come out, just something to think of

 

My neighbor is a state trooper, his reasoning:

The weight has nothing to do with it - it's your height and age. If you're too low, the airbag is going to crack you in the face. Also, if you're younger (under 12), your bones aren't as developed as someone over 12 - the air bags could break a bone if that's the case. Weight doesn't affect bones. Hence why they say over 12 to sit in the front.

But then again, when I was growing up we didn't even have car seats - and now you can't even take a kid home without one... and look, we're all still here. But if her parents don't want her in the front seat - it's not your call to put her there.

 

Hmmm, I'm not sure how to tell you to handle it to keep the peace, but I can tell you each state has specific laws governing age/weight requirements with regards to front seat passengers.

 

I would just respect the parents' wishes. If anything DID happen, you would just feel guilty to prove a point.

Not worth it.

 

She's not that much shorter than myself (but weighs significantly less), but Mike does make a point about softer bones, etc.

When an SUV stopped short in front of me while I was driving an S10, I went completely under its bumper. My truck bumper was folded down and the air bag sensors never received a signal to go off. I did, however, have some nasty chest/shoulder bruises from the selt belt. The Monte Carlo sits even lower so in that case, I'm guessing (just guessing) the air bags would not inflate either.

Yeah, I could keep the peace, but you know, a-hole brother-in-laws......LOL!

 

As previously stated, respect the parent's wishes. If something were to happen and the child were seriously injured or (worse yet) killed because they were in the front seat you would have to live with that on your conscience the rest of your life. It's true that some of us grew up when seat belts, car seats and air bags weren't used or mandated, but not all of us made it through those times. Safety standards were different then and when someone was killed it remained local. We didn't have the 'net to make it known worldwide in a matter of minutes. My daughter will be 11 in March, weighs 80lbs and stands 5'1.75 inches tall. According to our State law she could legally sit in the front seat, but we have her ride in the back seat for safety reasons. The relationship of a shorter person to the air bag and bone structure has already been mentioned so I won't go into that. Inlaws can be a real PITA at times, but is it really worth jeapordizing the safety of a child just to try and prove your point? Think about it...

 

So that's what happened to your face.

 

Thanks for the viewpoints!

 

I agree with respecting the parents wishes, even though it sounds very tempting from your point of view. Personally my parents never made me sit back seat, unless it was taken already. I also didn't start wearing my seat belt til I started driving myself.