In most cars I've seen that would apply to the rear seats too!... lots of places have "booster seats" which are basically to lift a child that's too big for a baby seat but too small for a standard seat belt...

Don't know about the law in the US though... My concearn would not be the law however... You see people driving with their kids climbing over the inside of the car and not strapped in at all, but you couldn't get me to drive with mine not secured, if I had any. You shouldn't need laws telling people to protect their children.

 

Hmmm....

I'm dubious that it would be any safer in the back... but I know I've seen the airbag disable switch on a great many saloon and compact cars over here... it's on my frends Ford Fiesta for example.

 

This thread made me think...especially as I have a daughter...

If the front doors have to open in order to open the rear doors, and children are required to be in the back, what happens in an emergency situation (accident) where the child has to get out and the driver is incapacitated?

 

Hmm.. I think a lot of 2 doors with back seats have that same problem, don't they?

Would kinda have to crawl through the middle.

 

Unless I was forced to due to curcumstances outside my control, I wouldn't dream of making a child over say 9 or 10 sit in the back...

Obviously you'd need to ensure the safety aspect, and if there is more than one child there will be arguements which might not be worth the earache... but in my experience a ride in a car is a good oportunity to talk to children.... I mean it's not easy to have a real conversation normally... but in a car you have a captive audience, and it's somtimes a worthwhile exercise to help them with their troubles... at school or whatever. Works better if there's only one, and especially well if you're a relative, not a parent as they are more likley to be honest with you... but you get the idea.