Advice re carseat too close to drivers seat

[Lazy Leo]

Hi, has anyone ever been advised that a baby carseat needs a specific minimum gap between it and the back of the driver (or passenger seat)

A friend is having a bit of a tough time trying to get a pram and carseat combination which will fit in her Toyota Yaris.

The boot is small and she would prefer not to have to remove pram wheels etc. The back seats slide forward to make the boot slightly bigger but a rather (possibly too much so) helpful assistant told her that she shouldn't do that as the babyseat will then be too close to the front seats. Oh and the whole thing has to fit under the parcel shelf or else it is a projectile risk in a car accident....

Obviously the safety of our babies is paramount, but I cannot find anything about the level of gap required between babyseat and front seat. Does anyone have any experience of this?

 

[Siyren]

does she had a pram in mind?my SIL has the maxi cosi loola up, which would solve the problem entirely as it folds down so small
im not sure about the minimum space required, plus some car seats require it, lyssa's ERF seat needs to be resting on the seat, however im not sure about infant carriers xx

 

[patch2006uk]

Found this (from American site):


Q48: My rear-facing carseat is touching the back of the seat in front of it?* Is that OK?

Please consult the owner's manual of your carseat.* For most carseats, this is not a problem and may actually improve safety.* You should also check your vehicle manual to confirm that it allows a rear-facing car seat to touch the back of the seat in front of it; this may interfere with the "smart" air bag sensors in some newer vehicles.* Best practice from the NHTSA training manual states, "A rear-facing seat can be installed so it rests against the back of the vehicle seat ahead if not counter to manufacturers instructions....If the gap is small or the child is on the heavy side, it is much better to be already touching any forward structure prior to a crash than to hit it during the crash. Resting against a forward seat back is only one way to achieve these benefits."

On this site:
https://www.car-safety.org/faq.html#Q48

I'd personally get in touch with the manufacturer and ask them. It doesn't seem worth possibly compromising LO's safety for the sake of an email/phonecall

 

[Libra Mariah]

The nurses at the hospital inspected mine and told me the gap must be atleast 2 inches.

 

[Bingo]

I was told that there should be a small gap and that it is safer to place the car seat in the middle of the rear seat but if there's no space then behind the passenger seat. I have mine behind the passenger seat because I have a small car with no real middle seat.