Why Volvo’s front car seat concept is a bad idea
Expecting parents may be dazzled by this, but veteran parents won’t.
Volvo’s front car seat concept.
I know you are well known for safety, Volvo. But this one has me scratching my head.
Volvo has announced a new concept in car seat travel — a car seat positioned in the front seat of the car.
In Volvo’s proposed XC90 Excellence model, a car seat replaces the passenger side seat. It sits on a base that allows it to swivel toward the door so parents can easily place baby in. Then it locks into place in a rear-facing position and moves up and back. There is a storage bin underneath and a heated cup holder to warm bottles on the side.
Expecting parents may be dazzled by this, but veteran parents won’t be fooled.
This idea sucks.
As I watched the company’s YouTube video of it, set to tranquil spa music, I felt anything but tranquil.
I saw and heard chaos.
(Story continues after video)
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My two kids have graduated from car seats to booster seats. However, the imprint of their car seat days is burned into my memory. Until you’ve driven, white-knuckled, with a screeching baby in the back of your car, you have no idea how this all goes down. You can be the most safety-cautious, sane driver on the planet. But when your baby is shrieking in your ear at the wheel, all bets are off.
As my babies wailed on car rides (and both of them did), I remember cringing, crying, shaking, and scanning road signs desperate for an exit. I wanted to do something immediately. But I could not. There was the small matter of the 3,000-plus-pound machine I was controlling that could end our lives in one wrong move.
So I waited until I could pull over. This is how it should be.
Now let’s revisit the screeching baby scenario with me driving — solo — in Volvo’s XC90 Excellence with my baby in the front car seat. I’m quite sure this is how it would all go down. And I consider myself a safe driver. We always use seat belts. I don’t speed. I use my directionals and check my blind spot. I pull over when I’m tired.
Let the brain-searing screams commence. But this time I have a front-row seat to my baby’s misery (because it wasn’t heart-wrenching enough before). Yup, I get to stare at my helpless little baby’s tightly scrunched eyes, wide open mouth, and alarmingly beet-red face as he fiercely shakes and trembles. And now he gets to stare at me! (when he finally pops opens those scrunched eyes). Awesome. Yes, my guilt can be magnified as I drive while my child’s eyes plead: Why aren’t you picking me up? Why the hell aren’t you picking me up?
This time, he’s within arm’s reach. So my parenting instincts take precedence over anything I learned in driver’s ed. I’m sorry, but with baby beside you, if you can keep your hands on 10 and 2 and your eyes totally on the road during this heart-thumping hot mess of a ride, you have nerves of steel. And I don’t believe you.
So I am now driving one-handed and caressing his face. Of course I must look at said face or I might accidentally jam my shaking finger in his eye. The caress isn’t working so I reach my right arm around and behind me onto the floor where his favorite rattle sits in the diaper bag. Got it! I bounce it in front of him, alternating my eyes between the road and the silly rattle dance my hand is doing in the air. Is it working? Maybe, just maybe, it is! Hooray! His eyes are opening a bit, aren’t they? His mouth is closing a bit, isn’t it? Yes, yes, it is.
Wait. Nope. Nope. It’s not. He’s getting louder. In fact, he’s cranked it up a notch (how is that possible?). I search for road signs. When the hell is the next rest stop? Two miles away! Arghh. I wrack my brain for what else I can do. Then I realize I haven’t checked his diaper yet. I reach over and poke a finger into his onesie, moving the plump rolls of his inner thighs to investigate.
And, oh yeah, I’m still driving.
We’ve all heard the warnings about texting and driving. Just recently a woman died while posting on Facebook while driving. Smartphones have become a major distraction for American drivers. What makes Volvo think parents wouldn’t check their baby while driving?
If folks check their phones while driving, why wouldn’t they check their babies?
So, Volvo, you can keep your front car seat. I don’t need the distraction. And I’m also not comfortable positioning my baby so close to the windshield should there be an accident. I’d rather white-knuckle it to the next rest area, pull over, and tend to my baby — safely — in a parking lot.
Is a car seat up front even safe for babies?
Our goverment says kids shouldn’t ride in the front seat of cars until age 12. Volvo said, in a chat with consumers on its Facebook page, the following:
From a safety perspective, the front seat is as safe as the rear seat for a child, given that the frontal passenger airbag is disconnected
Volvo said on Facebook that the reason the U.S., Australia, and other countries prohibit kids from sitting in the front is because of the potential harm that could be caused by the passenger airbag. Volvo said it wants to discuss the matter further with federal authorities.
I propose the company also discuss the matter further with parents.
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