I've got a '99 TJ Sport and a 4 year old who I normally transport around in a car. Are Jeeps safe for children? Any special car seats, strap setups, cautions, warnings, pieces of advice, etc to keep him as safe as possible if I want to take him for a ride?
Thanks
A four year old will require a car seat. No special version, just a good quality one with the appropriate safety approval. And if they ride in the front seat, deactivate the passenger side air bag.
. . .
Just the normal car seat for the kiddos size. Make sure all the recalls have been done, DC had a few for child seat retaining straps, but that was in the ZJ. I dunno about the TJ.
Griffin,
Safety is relative. TJs have a higher centre of gravity and are more likely to topple than a sports car. They don't have side airbags (which you don't want with a 4 year old anyhow). That said, from a safety point of view, you are better upgrading yourself (driving skills) before worrying about upgrading your vehicle in my opinon.
Dave Milne, Scotland
Do not simply put him in the front seat with no doors and the belt across his lap. A hard left turn will give him a great view of the underside of your Jeep, which he WILL remember when he's 14.
Seems to me that there are attaching points in the back of TJs for child seats, correct? I'm a little fuzzy on that. Mine are older so I don't use them.
tw
I have a 91 Wrangler with only a lap belt in the back seat. What is the safest way to carry a child? Front seat, with a booster seat or back seat with a lap belt?
CTM
My 06 has two welded in metal 'loops' on the floorboard for anchoring a car seat. We use a booster seat for our grandson in the TJ, never have much trouble other than trying to reach the seatbelt to snap it. I've found that for ME it's easier to open the gate and reach over the back seat to fasten him in.
Hubby is much more flexible than I am, he crawls in sidways from the front to reach. Ok ok... he's allot slimmer than I am too LOL.
Kate
2O|||||||O6 Rubicon
Yep, dats whut I wuz speakin of!
tw
I am a Fire Fighter, and we have a person on our Department who is specially trained to help ensure our locals they have installed the child seat correctly. Many (by no means all) Fire or Police departments have these people. Stop by your local FD and just ask, they can probably either help or point you in the right direction (another FD or PD). If you can't get any where with this, give you local hospital a call. Many of them have classes for new parents, the teachers of these classes probably have a list of the local FDs and PDs who have specialists. Everyone should really check their installations, I think about 75% install the seat incorrectly.
Other than that, a Jeep is not the best vehicle for a young child - mostly because of the rougher ride jolting the little one around. If you ride with the top down, the wind can damage their developing eyes and ears (I imagine this would take a while, not just a ride over to the pool or something).
Like the guy said above, driving is a very dangerous activity, just be as safe as you can and have some fun!
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