smart cars and children

[jellybean87]

Hi i'm new here, and thinking about a smart car.

Thinking for the future, are baby seats safe in smart cars and do the fit ok? Also does anyone know what pushchairs fit in the boot?

atm, I have a 5yr old on a booster seat. She would fit in fine right?

Thanks

[S2Tigger]

No problem, I have in the past used a child seat, with air bag off and my 6 year old is tall enough for just a booster seat, have no idea about the seats in the back though !

S2tigger

[wh666]

Re: smart cars and children

They are fine, better than some other cars as most smart seatbelts have height adjusters.

Just bear in mind that, if you have dual airbags and a little one in the front, you may want to disable the passenger airbag. As for rear seats in the forfour, I've never had a problem at all transporting little-uns.

[MrPoo]

Re: smart cars and children

Depending on what age smart (and I'm assuming fortwo!) using baby seats does require some preparation. If it's a 450, you either need to get an airbag disabling switch fitted (available from smart-stuff.co.uk) or the basifix seat bracket fitted, both will require coding. If it's a 451, it may already have the standard switch fitted, if not it has to be retrofitted.

Booster seats are fine, providing the seat is as far back as it will go and there is no need to disable the airbag as the child is clear of the space. I would recommend using a booster seat for some time with a smart though as I found the seats are quite deep and little people seem to get lost in them. I've carried a number of children and find some still need a booster seat at 10 -11.

Depending on your seat position, a fair few pushchairs fit. I sit fairly close to the steering wheel so use the space behind the seat for buggy storage. That said, I've not carried a newborn, so I can't comment if you're using a big pram!

This thread is the most useful information I've seen: http://www.smartmaniacs.co.uk/showth...boo+baby+seats

[problemchild1976]

Re: smart cars and children

hang on......

5 years old - booster seat - standard seatbelt - do not turn airbag off

of course, the safest place for a child is in the rear of a car to be further away from the more severe frontal impacts but many 5 year olds sit up front.

if you were having another baby then obviously the other info is valid but then you would need a bigger car anyway

JJ

[SmartGurl]

Re: smart cars and children

Hey there, I took my daughter out for a short drive in mine yesterday. She only turned 1 year old last week and she LOVED it! Her wee face was a picture once she realised that she was riding shotgun with her Mama

I have a forward facing car seat and the passenger seat it's (obviously lol) placed on is pushed right back as far as it goes. Here's what my Smart manual states...

"Danger of injury!

Use only original smart baby carrier or smart children's seat (in conjunction with the smart quick fix) and smart seat-height adjustment when transporting children.
Otherwise the passenger-side airbag may inadvertently injure a child."

"Danger of injury!

When using the original smart optional extra seat-height raiser with/without seat back, the passenger-side seat should be moved to its furthest rear position, in order to rule out any injuries being caused by the passenger airbag."

[problemchild1976]

Re: smart cars and children

in the forfour manual...

Position the front passenger's seat as far back as possible, particularly if children are secured to it by means of a child restraint system*

...which to me seems to state its not a child related issue but more about being as far away as possible from the impact.

JJ

[ykciv1]

Re: smart cars and children

I've had Christopher in the Smart (fortwo) since birth. We had a switch fitted to disable the airbag and all is fine - in fact he is safer in the Smart than our other car. Obviously with a five year old the seating arrangements are different as he'd be forward facing - you only need to disable the bag for a rearward seat.

For the future (I presume you're talking about another baby) i'd get an ERF (extended rear facing) seat which does not face forwards and is MUCH safer than a forward facing seat (I found this out about a week after buying my new seat by which time he'd been sick in it so I couldn't return it!)

Oh and by the way - ignore the bit about 'Smart' baby seats they are appalling and i'd NEVER trust one.

Pretty much any pram will fit I have a Silver Cross Sleepover pram in mine, and have carried a big threewheeler pushchair a well as a basic buggy. The boot is HUGE!