Priya

My first car was a 67 Ford Country Squire station wagon. It had seat belts.

Raphiki

The OP is in FL not IL. If you want to remove all doubt simply call your local PD and ask for their advise.

Hit That!

maj75

Bikespace

Both, perhaps? My kids love the Corvettes, and get up early for Cars and Coffee. The rear facing seat is safest, not because of the airbag, but because of the weakness of human necks, especially in children with large heads compared to their bodies.

Here is some boilerplate quote that is probably not made up from bogus statistics:

"Children in the second year of life are five times less likely to die or be seriously injured in a crash if they ride in a rear-facing car seat. Turning a child under age 2 to a forward-facing position can result in head, neck or spinal cord injuries in the event of a crash. Babies under age 2 simply aren’t yet strong enough to withstand strong crash forces without the extra protection that a rear-facing car seat provides."

That said, everything we do carries risk, especially anything fun or cool.

Priya

I can see not liking facing backwards if there's a forward facing window you could otherwise look out of, but in a plane it would make no difference to me if the seats faced backwards.

Bikespace

I'd agree that would be true on a train, though I still prefer to sit forwards on them. On an airplane, you have a steep climb, followed by a long cruise with a slightly up-pitched nose (bring a tennis ball with you, it will roll from first class to the aft lavatory if placed in the aisle of a modern passenger aircraft). Scenery aside, it would be uncomfortable to sit facing backwards. If the seats were reclined further to accommodate, there would be fewer seats, and less revenue for the airline.

theandies

A lot of cars back then seat belts were an option. My '71 Corvette Convertible came standard with lap belts but shoulder harness was an option. Go figure.
My Dad bought that car brand new so the seat belts weren't taken out over the years. We put over 300,000 miles on that thing. We tried but we couldn't kill it.

NONN37

I use to ride in the back storage area. it was a fun little cave back there.

_zebra

so long as the kid's in the appropriate car seat, he's fine. front- and rear-facing seats both buckle in, and as mentioned, there ain't no airbag to worry about.

even so, growing up, mom drove 3 of us kids around in a single-cab truck all the time (when the weather was nice, i rode in the back to not scrunch up against the car seat)... somehow, we're magically all still alive!

3JsVette

I have to agree with checking with the local Police to be sure. As far as taking him legal or not you can never be too careful but no matter how careful you are you're still taking a chance. You just want to minimize that chance as much as humanly possible.
Heck around here with disregard to stop signs and red lights you put your life in your hands crossing the darn street.

Strokemyaxe

Richard454

HA- my son's life growing up (27 now) - car seats-seat belts- helmets and didn't even drink water out of the garden hose...

As soon as he gets out of the house-

Priya

I checked before I posted and seat belts became mandatory factory equipment in 68. I had thought it was 67. Shoulder belts were mandatory some years after that as you note.

_zebra

looks like making up for missing a childhood of fun & learning through pain

Strokemyaxe

It's just about neck support. A fender bender at 20mph can snap a toddlers neck... so I've read. That's why rear facing is safer. Neck support to combat that whiplash.

-Stroke

Douglas Mariani

Cool Dad

Raphiki

I say we thin the herd!

bashcraft

Did the same thing. I guess it's amazing that my kids survived me hauling them around.

7T1vette

Gee. What happens when a car gets rear-ended at 40mph when the kid is in a REAR-facing seat? Does his neck snap then? OMYGOSH!! Let's put kids in plastic bubble-wrap so they can't get hurt no matter which way they are impacted. Oh....no....that won't do either. The kid won't be able to breathe. What will we do??? What will we do???

For all those who want everyone ELSE to protect them from whatever may happen.....get over it. Do your job and protect YOUR kids the way YOU see fit. Everyone else can do the same; then you can keep your nose out of everyone else's business. That's the way this country was founded...INDIVIDUAL LIBERTIES. Keep yours and stay out of mine.

I'm all for safety. But I'm damn tired of other people trying to tell ME how I should be safe. It is absolutely stupid for anyone to not wear a seat belt when riding in a car. But if someone wants to be stupid? Who am I to tell them what to do?