# Which is the safer spot in the backseat of a car? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 3, 2015, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-safer-spot-in-the-backseat-of-a-car/729800 "2015-09-03T09:29:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-safer-spot-in-the-backseat-of-a-car/729800/1 "2015-09-03T09:29:25Z")
I often have to use taxis with my kid that have no seat belts in the backseat, I always put him to the door instead of in the middle seat in the theory it is safer in a crash because of the risk of going out the windshield in a head on crash. But I realized this is just a theory, is there any actual stats? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-safer-spot-in-the-backseat-of-a-car/729800/2 "2015-09-03T10:26:56Z")
Searches all seem to come back to a large study by researchers at the University of Buffalo in 2006. > [@](#): > > One large study of the subject, by researchers at the University of Buffalo in 2006, analyzed more than 60,000 fatal crashes and found that passengers in the middle back seat were 86 percent more likely to survive than those in the front seats, and 25 percent more likely to survive than those in the other rear seats. > [@](#): > > The middle seat offers the most distance from impact during a collision (sometimes referred to as crumple zone). So if you get hit at an intersection, the outer seat will take more of a direct hit, while the middle seat remains relatively insulated. > **[Car Insurance Tools & Resources | Allstate](https://www.allstate.com/resources/car-insurance)** > > Learn about the coverage a car insurance policy offers with helpful articles, videos, tools and more. This doesn’t really answer the question for \*unbelted \*passengers, but if you take side impacts into account, the middle looks as if it would be safer. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-safer-spot-in-the-backseat-of-a-car/729800/3 "2015-09-03T22:07:59Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I often have to use taxis with my kid that have no seat belts in the backseat … Here in Minnesota, all taxis are required to have working seat belts for all passengers. So I wouldn’t get in one that didn’t have them – I’d send it back and request another. (And I have done so. I’d do so even faster if I had a child with!) Taxis are not required to provide child car seats for passengers. So for a small child, I’d buckle them in with the adult-sized seat belt. My understanding is that even though it’s oversized, it still provides some safety in the case of an accident. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-the-safer-spot-in-the-backseat-of-a-car/729800/4 "2015-09-04T01:02:10Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Here in Minnesota, all taxis are required to have working seat belts for all passengers. So I wouldn’t get in one that didn’t have them – I’d send it back and request another. (And I have done so. I’d do so even faster if I had a child with!) > > Taxis are not required to provide child car seats for passengers. So for a small child, I’d buckle them in with the adult-sized seat belt. My understanding is that even though it’s oversized, it still provides some safety in the case of an accident. Where we are, taxis (heck, many cars) don’t have back seat belts, or if they do, they’re hidden or just the door side seats have them. You can’t “send it back” and request another. They’re all (or mostly all) like that. Seems like in the middle may be safer, if you count side crashes.