Kids in a Miata?: Grassroots Motorsports forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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Sept. 10, 2011 8:49 p.m. littleturquoiseb HalfDork

So I have a three year old who loves cars and a 1990 miata. A few weeks ago I took him and the miata to the local parking lot car show. I had already tested that the back up car seat fit, I took it easy and we didn't go far. I was suprised he enjoyed the trip (he is kinda chicken for most new things). He liked the cars and the ice cream, no one cared about my crappy miata.

So am I wrong in thinking I shouldn't take him on longer trips? (like the commute to work/his day care) ... I assume people with pickups take their kids in the front seat all the time ... I have no passenger airbag, I assume a miata is about as safe as any other car built in 1990, but it still feels weird.

Picture proof of fitment and yummy ice cream attached.
Sept. 10, 2011 8:53 p.m. MrJoshua SuperDork
Sept. 10, 2011 8:54 p.m. mad_machine SuperDork

with no airbag.. should not be an issue.
Sept. 10, 2011 9:06 p.m. White_and_Nerdy HalfDork

So he's strapped into the seat, and the seat is belted into the car with the seat belt, right? Looks a bit small for a booster seat. You can do it that way, but you should use a locking clip to cinch the seat belt, holding the child seat in place, as tightly as possible to prevent any movement. The Miata's seat belt retractor doesn't have a locking function, other than the inertial lock, which allows too much movement. 1990-1993 don't have passenger air bags, so that's not a problem. (I was, but am NOT currently, a NHTSA certified child passenger safety technician, which is how I learned all this stuff.)

Some kids don't like the wind in their face, especially on the highway at higher speeds, but you can always roll up the window (or, heaven forbid, put the top up ). As long as he's in a child seat, it's legal, so as long as the seat is strapped in tight, it's really your call as far as safety is concerned.
Sept. 10, 2011 9:15 p.m. littleturquoiseb HalfDork

White_and_Nerdy wrote:

So he's strapped into the seat, and the seat is belted into the car with the seat belt, right? Looks a bit small for a booster seat. You can do it that way, but you should use a locking clip to cinch the seat belt, holding the child seat in place, as tightly as possible to prevent any movement. The Miata's seat belt retractor doesn't have a locking function, other than the inertial lock, which allows too much movement. 1990-1993 don't have passenger air bags, so that's not a problem. (I was, but am NOT currently, a NHTSA certified child passenger safety technician, which is how I learned all this stuff.)

Yes to all questions ... but it's not a booster. He is kinda on the small side so we're not in a booster yet.

The commute is all back roads, and the top doesn't go up unless caught in a monsoon! I did run with the window up because it was a little cold (like 65 degrees is cold for August here in the mtns of NJ)
Sept. 10, 2011 10:07 p.m. N Sperlo Dork

Should be fine. the only worry that comes to my mind is that the front passenger seat is the most dangerous because of left turns. Just statistics.
Sept. 10, 2011 10:32 p.m. MrJoshua SuperDork

N Sperlo wrote:

Should be fine. the only worry that comes to my mind is that the front passenger seat is the most dangerous because of left turns. Just statistics.

Well you know what they say about statistics....

-I would venture a guess that more people die in the drivers seat than anywhere else (because more miles are traveled by a single occupant car than a multiple occupant, and if you have a single occupant they are in the driver seat).

-I can also assume that more passengers die in the front passenger seat than any other seat (because that is the most frequently occupied seat by passengers).

Basically the statistics are going to be skewed more by where people are more likely to sit than by what types of turns are made.

All that said, you do increase the risk to your child by putting them close to the outside of the car and especially increase the risk by putting them low to the ground with their head at the average vehicles bumper level. It is probably far less risk than owning a pool or having a hand gun in your home. The risk is up to you to judge.
Sept. 10, 2011 10:40 p.m. littleturquoiseb HalfDork

I have guns but no rounds of ammo and I have a pool but a good gate ... I don't eliminate risk I manage it!
Sept. 10, 2011 10:41 p.m. N Sperlo Dork

In reply to MrJoshua:

I agree, and it doesn't help that there are no other seats for him to sit in, but here are some statistics that are not going to help in any way.