Anyone ever have small children ride in their truck

[poov71]

I live under NC laws but i'm sure most states are similar..I'm curious of how many let their kids ride..I have 5y/o (almost 6y/o) twins that have yet to ride in my truck, and its been around since they were babies. I rarely get to drive the truck due to them always being with me..They have to be in boosters, so who has experience with this? thanks for your time..Poovey

[chrismoore701]

Strap them in and go. I have a 79 and do not hesitate to take them. I also take them in my dads 63 corvette.

[TrailerTrash]

No worries. I grew up in these trucks. me and my sister sharing the lap belt inbetween my mom and dad.

[Dball]

I've got 5 year old twins as well and a 7 year old. They all use booster seats and love riding in the truck not at the same time of course. They think its the coolest thing because they get to sit in the front seat. My favorite memories cruising in the truck are with my son reminds me of riding shotgun back in the day with my dad.

[poov71]

Chris..Do you use booster seats?

[nonstop]

Had my twins in booster seats... it was kind of tight, and shifting was a little tough at times, but in hindsight, I wish I had done it more!

[DPowers]

http://www.buckleupnc.org/occupant-r...fety-law-faqs/

According to North Carolina law, children less than age 5 and less than 40 pounds must be in the back seat in vehicles with active passenger-side front airbags. However, the recommendation is to keep kids in the back seat until they are 12 or 13. Rear-facing car seats cannot be installed in front of an active airbag. The child could be seriously injured or killed if there is a crash and the airbag deploys.
It is legal, though not necessarily recommended, for a child to ride in the front seat if any of the following apply:
» The vehicle has no front passenger air bag
» The vehicle has a front passenger air bag that is turned off with an on/off switch
» The vehicle has no rear seat
» The child is 5 years or older
» The child weighs 40 pounds or more
If a child needs to ride in the front seat, you should still use a car seat or booster seat where appropriate. However, rear-facing seats can NEVER be used in front of an active airbag. Rear-facing car seats must always be in the back seat unless the vehicle has no front passenger airbag or unless the front passenger airbag can be turned off.
For forward-facing kids in harness seats or booster seats in the front seat, move the front seat back to move it away from the airbag or turn the airbag off in vehicles with an airbag on/off switch.
Children of any age are allowed to ride in the front seat of vehicles that do not have a back seat (such as single cab pickup trucks or two-seater sports cars) however rear-facing seats can only be installed in the vehicle if the vehicle has no airbag or if the airbag can be disabled.

[SkinnyG]

My '77 is my daily. My boys have ridden in it since they were 8 (booster seat) and 10.

Prior to that, they both had their own baby seat in my standard cab Nissan Hardbody. This required removing the arm rest from the passenger door, and notching the left side bottom of middle seat so my leg could fit to work the gas pedal.

I also take my kids here and there in my Super 7, and have done since they were 5 (to kindergarten, no booster seat).

[cadillac_al]

We never used seat belts when I was a kid. I did belt my kid in though. We used to ride in the back half of the time. I don't know how I lived through it. If the kids are belted in they should be safe with sane driving. We have to watch out for more distracted idiots nowadays. We do have head on collisions twice a week in my state due to texters. Other states must be worse.

[Dead Parrot]

When I first saw the topic, I thought it was going to be about letting kids ride in the bed. Which I did a lot as a kid. Survived not having a child car seat as well. We did use seat belts which were just lap belts.

Just based on the wrecks I see at the salvage yard, the middle of the cab in these trucks is a pretty safe place to be in a wreck, if you can stay there until things stop moving.

Agree with cadillac_al on the texting/distracted driving problem. Have read several reports that the death rate is going up the last couple of years and distracted driving is getting the blame. Car makers blame phones but their convoluted UI distractomatic dash mount screens get a fair amount of the blame, IMO.

[Alex V.]

Are you asking how it needs to be done to make it legal, or if it's a good idea at all?

[dirish]

In Tn. I was told by a trooper no booster seat, unless you are using a shoulder belt as well.
They are not designed for lap belt only. My seven year old rides in front and back seats with lap belt, no booster. 1972 K5.

[aharper33]

We do it all of the time. Never thought of it any other way. Actually got to bring my daughter home in it from the hospital back in October. Put the booster seat in for my son and the clip in car seat for my daughter and off we go. And usually since I work long hours during the summer, I usually bring the kids to school and daycare all winter.

[hewittca]

I'm in NC and I also have two little ones (3 and 5) who ride in my truck with me. I do not have a center belt, so it's only one kid at a time and always in a car seat. My 5 year old is not over the 40 lb minimum to move to a booster, so the carseat has been working out just fine in the truck. With laser focus and defensive driving on point I feel confident enough to take them for a ride like this occasionally, but definitely not every day with the above mentioned distracted driving lunatics. I don't know what I will do though when he moves up to a booster seat because I don't trust him to stay put enough in just the lap belt. I may install shoulder belts for this reason.

[Tom]

What exactly is the question? I'm sure everyone who's ever owned these trucks has had their kids in them. Do they all use boosters? Probably only if the law requires them. I would not hesitate to take kids in any vehicle, I don't worry myself over whats safe. Nothing is in the grand scheme of things.

[chrismoore701]

I did. I don't anymore. I took both the boys and my dad to a car show tonight. It was tight but we did it. The crazy thing I did when I was a kid. All 5 family members in my dads 63 convertible corvette. You would go to jail for that today

[poov71]

Originally Posted by cadillac_al

We never used seat belts when I was a kid. I did belt my kid in though. We used to ride in the back half of the time. I don't know how I lived through it. If the kids are belted in they should be safe with sane driving. We have to watch out for more distracted idiots nowadays. We do have head on collisions twice a week in my state due to texters. Other states must be worse.

I couldnt agree more..I'm most concerned about being hit..Safety for my boys is most important..Too much carelessness behind the wheel for sure..We used to stand on the bench seat of my father's Ford F100 and go everywhere..That's nuts looking back at that..

[poov71]

Originally Posted by Alex V.

Are you asking how it needs to be done to make it legal, or if it's a good idea at all?

Legal, along with the safest setup

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by chrismoore701

The crazy thing I did when I was a kid. All 5 family members in my dads 63 convertible corvette. You would go to jail for that today

We did the same, my dad had a 63 vette too. There were 4 of us in the car, mom & dad and me & my brother. It was when my little brother came along, that dad sold the corvette.

[SkinnyG]

Us as kids, and our parents, and our parents' parents survived much worse. But I recognize many people didn't survive back in the day.

If I fret about safety in everything, I won't sleep, and live in fear/stress all the time. Somewhere in the safety-to-kaos spectrum, you need to find balance.

I purpose to do my utmost, first and foremost, to protect myself and my family. But there are things I cannot control (*like other drivers, natural disasters, mechanical failure, etc). Those things you have to give up to whatever faith/deity/karma/fate/luck/superstition that you cling to and leave it there. When your number comes up, your number comes up. It won't matter if you're in a Hummer or a Yugo, or just walking down the street, or laying in bed. Just don't try to unlawfully accelerate the inevitable.

But that's just my opinion. It's how I find my place in the balance.