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Excess baggage?

We have a 2007 Ford Focus Zetec and are about to have our third child. We run the Focus as a second car and hope to be able to use it with all three children and one adult. Would you advise putting the oldest child of 6 in the front on a booster seat and turning off the air bag?

Asked on 24 October 2009 by

Answered by Honest John
People are confused about this. You only ever turn off the passenger airbag when fitting a rear-facing baby carrier in the front passenger seat. You never switch it off in front of a forward facing passenger. However, to maximise the protection of the airbag and minimise any
possible injury from it, it's best to set the passenger seat as far back
as is reasonably possible. In your case the normal procedure would be to switch it off and put the rear facing baby carrier in the front passenger seat, remembering to switch it back on again whenever a forward facing passenger is carried there. It is now a legal requirement to use the correct child restraints for children under 135cm (4’ 5”), not merely adult belts. Rules about children in cars at:
www.dft.gov.uk/think/focusareas/children/childinca...=
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