Infant seat can be used safely with Fortwo
Can children be safely seated in a Smart Fortwo, which has no back seat?
JoAnne Caza, communications manager for Mercedes-Benz Canada, replies:
An infant or child can indeed safely sit in the passenger seat of a Smart Fortwo, which has no back seat. The vehicle’s Occupant Classification System senses the weight of the passenger to regulate the deployment of the airbag.
When an infant or young child is seated, the passenger-side front airbag is deactivated and the “pass airbag off” lamp illuminates. The vehicle operator should always check this lamp to verify the airbag status when transporting infants or children in the front passenger seat.
Police warned my wife that our baby, who was in an infant car seat, couldn’t be in the passenger seat of our Smart Fortwo. Does this mean we have to get rid of the two-seater, and buy another car that has back seats?
Eric Lai replies: By law, children up to 8 years old or smaller than 36 kg (80 lb.) or 145 cm (four-feet, nine-inches) must be secured in an appropriate infant/ child seat or booster.
Regulation 613 of the Highway Traffic Act states that young children can only sit in front if the airbag is deactivated. Since the Smart Fortwo automatically does this for infants and young children, you’re fine. (As above, the illuminated “pass airbag off” light confirms deactivation.)
For an older child or a small-sized teen or adult passenger, move the seat as far back in the track as possible to help protect against potential injury from front airbags in a crash.
For vehicles without automatic airbag deactivation or a manual on/off switch, you can request permission to deactivate an airbag from Transport Canada. Once authorized, work can be completed at your expense.
Even in a car with back seats, it’s legal to have a properly secured infant or child in the front passenger seat if the airbag is deactivated — although you should try to avoid this unless the rear seats are already occupied by infants or children. According to experts, the back seat is considered the safest place in a car for child passengers. Email your non-mechanical questions to Eric Lai at wheels@thestar.ca. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided. Freelance writer Eric Lai’s Auto Know column appears each Saturday in Toronto Star Wheels.