At what age can children sit in the front seat of a car?
3 Answers
For safety reasons, children must be at least 12 years old or taller than 1.4 meters to sit in the front seat of a car. Otherwise, they should sit in the rear seats and use a child safety seat secured with a seat belt, along with engaging the child safety locks on the rear doors to prevent accidents during travel. Here is additional information: 1. Precautions: Many parents still believe that holding a child in their arms while traveling is the best way to protect them, unaware of the significant risks involved. During a collision, objects inside the car can generate an inertial force 30-50 times their own weight. If a parent holds a child in the back seat, a 10-kilogram child would produce a force of 300-500 kilograms, making it extremely difficult for the parent to hold onto them. 2. Weight requirements: Therefore, children under 12 years old (weighing less than 36 kilograms or shorter than 1.4 meters) should sit in the rear seats and use a safety seat when traveling by car.
Oh dear, many new parents have asked me this question. Strictly speaking, traffic regulations specify height requirements rather than just looking at age. According to domestic standards, children under 12 years old are not recommended to sit in the front seat, even if they exceed the height limit. Why? Because airbags pose too much impact force and are extremely dangerous for small children! I've personally witnessed a friend's 10-year-old child hitting the windshield during sudden braking while sitting in the front passenger seat. Installing a child safety seat in the rear is the safest option, and remember that children under four must be seated in rear-facing car seats. When purchasing a safety seat, choose one with ISOFIX interfaces, and after installation, give it a firm shake to ensure it's completely immobile.
I've studied regulatory data from many countries and found that height is the key indicator. It's generally recommended that children should be at least 145 cm tall to sit in the front seat, which usually corresponds to around 12-14 years old. The impact force when airbags deploy can be fatal for shorter individuals. The middle seat in the back row is actually the safest spot in the entire vehicle - children under five years old are best secured there using a leg-supported child safety seat. Always remember to check if the seatbelt buckle is properly engaged before each ride, as many parents think it's secured when it's actually just loosely attached.
