# Baby in a Convertible **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 12, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135 "2009-05-12T03:35:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/61 "2009-05-13T12:21:03Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > How can this be? I’ve seen the seat my niece used when she was very small and it’s designed for that eventuality. And aren’t you exaggerating about it being ‘a couple of inches’ away? More like 2 feet or more when you push the seat right back. A two-seat vehicle may not have seats that slide back as far as a four-seater, and in some cases may not slide back at all. I am not familiar with the car mentioned in the OP, so I can’t say in that specific case. > [@](#): > > I well remember stories about front-facing children being suffocated by airbags, but are there any actual stories of children being killed as you describe, but in seats designed for cars with airbags? I don’t have a specific cite, but I have vague memories of said accidents. The only specific decapitation I can recall did not involve an infant but a young girl in the front seat. Yes, airbags really can injure or kill, that is why 2-seaters are required to have deactivation switches for the passenger side, ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/62 "2009-05-13T12:27:25Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Having ridden with a mother with his child in the back seat (behing the passenger seat) I am unsure of the CW about having the kid ride back there. True, in case of an accident the kid is certainly safer. But, that’s _if_ an accident occurs. The Mother was constantly turning her head and reaching back to do something or other with the baby. I think that this woudl lead to a higher chance that an accident would occur in the first place. Why is this mother compelled to fuss with baby while driving? What makes you think she’d fuss less with the child in the front seat, with equal distraction? Mom not concentrating on her driving is a people problem, not an engineering problem. If a woman can’t pay attention to the road instead of baby\* then I rank her up with idiots who yak on cellphones and paint their nails while driving. If baby requires attention while mom is driving I’d consider it entirely appropriate for the _passenger_ to be politely asked to render those services. - Of course, if baby is in physical distress/choking/in imminent danger then you have to take care of it, but you _pull over_ to do that. ---
**Author:** ![JerseyFrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@JerseyFrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyFrank)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/63 "2009-05-13T13:06:10Z")
My wife goes batty whenever I pull over with the kids (ages - newborn & 2) in the car. If they are doing anything that I find dangerously distracting, I pull over and fix it. This made for a very long car trip from NJ to Miami when our first child was only 2 months old. At that point my wife was so gung-ho about breastfeeding that she wouldn’t give a pacifier or a bottle to soothe the savage baby. We’d get to the nearest exit and refuel the car and the kid even though they both didn’t need any more gas. But sometimes there were long stretches of traffic on I-95 where there wasn’t an exit possible for more than 15 minutes. Lemme tell ya… The wife has exposed her breasts to enough cops on the sides of roads now to never get a ticket again. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/64 "2009-05-13T13:36:43Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > If baby requires attention while mom is driving I’d consider it entirely appropriate for the _passenger_ to be politely asked to render those services. How could there possibly be a passenger if it’s a two seater car with a car seat in the front seat? Where is the passenger, in the trunk? And babies need a certain amount of fussing with - they drop their whatever and scream, they start to escape from the car seat, whatever. It shouldn’t distract you from the road, but they’re not stuffed animals. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/65 "2009-05-13T13:44:17Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > You would actually need to have a car seat to read the warning label. I have no baby or car seat, thus have no need to have researched this. Why would this question leave you gobsmacked. As I said, I have no child, no car seat, nothing of the sort. Didn’t even have car for years and years because we prefer greener ways of day-to-day travel and bike anywhere within 20 miles. But the warnings are huge things on the visors of every car I’ve ever been in and in every rental car. There’s no way possibly way to miss them unless you’ve never once been in a car with the visor down. I think they have warnings on the seat belts straps too, although those may just be the “how to wear a seatbelt correctly” diagram. But that’s a North American standard. I suppose it’s understandable if the same warnings are not posted so crazy-conspicuously as here. Generally though, I do notice that people completely ignore signs. I have a theory that it’s some kind of media fatigue. There are advertisements on _hubcaps_ fer Jeebus’ sake! So I think people today are conditioned to ignore even the flashiest signs simply because we’re inundated with them. ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/66 "2009-05-13T14:22:30Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Babies shouldn’t be driving convertibles. I thought this was gonna be akin to “Snakes on a Plane”…:dubious: I thought it was illegal to have small kids in the front seat anymore. Didn’t they just revised the national seat belt laws also. I’m sure there’s an updated clause about minors and car seats in there someplace. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/67 "2009-05-13T15:16:41Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > But the warnings are huge things on the visors of every car I’ve ever been in and in every rental car. There’s no way possibly way to miss them unless you’ve never once been in a car with the visor down. IIRC, the visor doesn’t even have to be down–it’s on the side of the visor that faces out when its in the closed position. And I’d like to point out that I’m another person with no children who doesn’t own a car (and never even bothered to get a license) who walks/buses most of the time who still has seen these warnings. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/68 "2009-05-13T15:29:03Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > The OP never said how long the kid was going to be in the sun. So what. Solar intensity actually changes throughout the day and you can get a mild sunburn in less than an hour at the sun’s zenith. Babies’ skin is far more sensitive than adult skin. Why is the suggestion that simple protection be provided for the baby so offensive to you people? > [@](#): > > Since she’s the nanny, I’d assume they live somewhat close. Why would you assume that? How uncommon is it for people to drive around in their convertibles for longer than 15 or 20 minutes? I can’t imagine it’s all that uncommon. If I had a convertible, you can be it’d be down whenever it wasn’t raining. That’s a lot of cumulative sun exposure. > [@](#): > > Did the nanny see the kid today? Was he sunburned? Are you aware that UVA damage is invisible and that cumulative damage is what you’re trying to avoid. In order to do that, it makes sense to make a habit out of prevention. Obviously, if you’re a parent, it’s your job to make decisions that promote the health and well-being of your child and it’s pretty clear that a lot of people don’t take UV exposure seriously for themselves or their children. Putting a hat on the baby is a great step in the right direction, but it’s incomplete if baby is wearing a little strappy top with arms and legs exposed. > [@](#): > > On what grounds have you already convicted this woman of letting her kid fry and get cancer? Poor kid, went from being the owner of a new hat to contracting skin cancer, being disfigured and dying in the space of a few posts. Based on the evidence presented in this thread, I think someone better put a warning label on the hat. Way to misrepresent what I said. I responded to \*\*Rick’s \*\*statement that people have lived thousands of years without UV protective clothing and survived. The dismissal was not only arrogant, it’s wrong in more ways than one. I’ve simply pointed out that not everyone does survive and of those who do, suffer increased risk of disease and/or disfigurement or scarring. Further, it’s entirely preventable with very simple awareness and practice. People have had protective clothing at their disposal for thousands of years from animal skin to tightly woven fabrics, but it’s pretty obvious that’s lost on **Rick** , presumably like so many others. In an effort to fight some ignorance, I’ll say there doesn’t have to be anything technical about UV protective clothing, as demonstrated by the vast examples of farmers’ tans and bathing suit tan lines. All you have to do is minimize unnecessary exposure, that includes a hat, and covering legs and arms or using appropriate sunscreen. As for the baby being in a rear-facing seat in the backseat, mom might not be able to see how much sun exposure the baby is subjected to, so all she has to do is think ahead and be prepared. Really, even her pediatrician would tell her the same, yet I am vilified for saying it. As I said…whatever. Sit and spin if you don’t like it. That’s all I’ve got to say on the matter. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/69 "2009-05-13T15:44:05Z")
> [@Jamicat](#): > > I thought this was gonna be akin to “Snakes on a Plane”…:dubious: > > I thought it was illegal to have small kids in the front seat anymore. If you read the whole thread, you might have noticed that it’s a 2-seater. It’s the front seat or the trunk. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/70 "2009-05-13T16:14:26Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > **corkboard** , I’ll agree that it’s not unthinkable, but… It’s \*\*not \*\*utterly reprehensible for a parent to be ignorant of basic and readily available knowledge about how \*\*not \*\*to kill or seriously injure their child? No, it’s not. I believe it has been established that the family in question live in a state that does not have a law requiring the seat to be in the backseat. I’m not aware of conclusive evidence that shows without a doubt that in an accident, a child in a carseat in the front will be killed while in the backseat will be safe. If the airbag is disengaged, a major potential cause of injury to the child has been eliminated. And not that I want to hijack the thread with this line of argument, but not long ago there was a lengthy thread around these parts about how dangerous it is to have the carseat in the back because drivers may forget about it and leave the kid there all day to fry like bacon. Not so much of an issue in a convertible, but still. So no, not utterly reprehensible. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/71 "2009-05-13T16:16:31Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > I realize you’re actually making an opposite point, but this really makes me nuts. “Most” of us aren’t here despite lack of seatbelts – ALL of us are here despite lack of seatbelts (and other safety equipment). Because the kids for whom they would have made a difference are DEAD! That’s why we have them NOW! ALL of us are here, except those that died of other causes in the meantime. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/72 "2009-05-13T16:16:46Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > St. Louis, Mo., if that helps. She bought him a hat today, so that the sun wouldn’t be too harsh when she put the top down! Your employer is a fucking idiot. One of the most damaging things to anyone’s ears is the wind whipping by at high speeds in a car. Driving around with a baby in a convertible is child abuse no matter what. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/73 "2009-05-13T16:18:04Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > You have to love people who are judgmental about other parents. :rolleyes: > > If this is an Audi TT, the passenger airbag is deactivated by via a manual switch and an automatic deactivation sensor if the passenger is below a certain weight (typically 30-40 lbs). I don’t know if it uses a similar system to the Porsche Boxster, but on that car the passenger airbag is also deactivated by using the child seat anchors built into the seat. > > Do you want to worry about something real? The average rollover rate for most “family vehicles” (SUVs and minivans) is three to four times the rate of sedans and coupes, and in some vehicles occur in as much as 50% of serious accidents. Airbags won’t prevent most injuries in a rollover, and seatbelts may actually accentuate damage. Rollover accidents account for almost 25% of all vehicle fatalities. > > Stranger She’s the kid’s nanny. It’s her JOB to worry about the kid. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/74 "2009-05-13T16:24:45Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > How could there possibly be a passenger if it’s a two seater car with a car seat in the front seat? Where is the passenger, in the trunk? That was in reference to a woman with a child in the back seat. Obviously, if it’s a two seater the baby is next to the driver. Even so, if the kid needs attention there’s a good argument to pull over to deal with it. > [@](#): > > And babies need a certain amount of fussing with - they drop their whatever and scream, they start to escape from the car seat, whatever. It shouldn’t distract you from the road, but they’re not stuffed animals. Yes. The kid can scream for two or three minutes while you pull over in a safe manner. It will set your teeth on edge, sure, but it won’t hurt the kid to scream. And if they’re properly in the car seat they won’t be able to fully escape before you pull over, either. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/75 "2009-05-13T17:24:28Z")
**corkboard** , I’m referring specifically to putting a rear-facing carseat in the front seat of a car that features a passenger-side without ensuring that said airbag is disengaged. That, to me, is reprehensible, because of the incredible amount of information out there that says, “This is a really good way for your child to get injured and/or killed.” ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/76 "2009-05-13T17:27:04Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > I’ve read horror stories about babies who didn’t survive minor accidents. well if they cant survive a minor accident in a non convertible, then they cant survive it in the convertible. Makes no difference what they are in. So you might as well forbid babies in all cars by that little idea. Realistically? I would bet that the supposed deaths in ‘minor’ accidents are more or less automotive [shaken baby](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaken_baby_syndrome) and would happen convertible or hardtop. Though to be perfectly blunt, my brother and I were raised in the bad old days before seat belts, air bags, I always sat in front with my mother, my brother and I split the back seat and frequently on long trips I laid on the back dash of a huge chrysler looking out at the other traffic … and was known to have sat unstrapped in to anything in the back of a pickup truck. Everybody I knew didnt have seatbelts or airbags, kids sat wherever the parents told them. We managed to survive. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/77 "2009-05-13T17:29:41Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Your employer is a fucking idiot. > > One of the most damaging things to anyone’s ears is the wind whipping by at high speeds in a car. > > Driving around with a baby in a convertible is child abuse no matter what. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/78 "2009-05-13T17:32:11Z")
I hereby nominate that anyone who makes another post to this thread using the “I grew up before seatbelts/airbags/etc. and I survived” argument gives up any access to modern medicine (vaccines, antibiotics, transplants, surgery, the whole shebang). Because, after all, people survived for tens of thousand of years without it. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/79 "2009-05-13T17:54:39Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Cite? Will this do? [http://www.azearprotection.com/mc\_info.htm](http://www.azearprotection.com/mc_info.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/80 "2009-05-13T18:10:27Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > I hereby nominate that anyone who makes another post to this thread using the “I grew up before seatbelts/airbags/etc. and I survived” argument gives up any access to modern medicine (vaccines, antibiotics, transplants, surgery, the whole shebang). Because, after all, people survived for tens of thousand of years without it. :rolleyes: Along with refrigeration for foodstuffs, sanitation, and modern hygiene. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135.md?page=5)