What’s really the safest seat in a car? An auto expert weighs in.

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I call shotgun!” has long been a typical battle cry when piling into a car. The term predates automobiles entirely, harkening back to the Wild West when the passenger sitting next to a stagecoach driver would carry a very literal shotgun. These days, there’s still a certain cachet to sitting next to the driver, even if the position no longer requires firearms.

If safety is your primary concern, however, you might want to reconsider calling “shotgun.” Being driver-side can come with real risks in an emergency situation, which begs the question: Which car seat is safest? Where your buckled can potentially save your life, although it’s far from the only factor.

A car’s safest seat “also depends on the vehicle that you’re in,” says Byron Bloch, an auto safety expert and advocate. The nature of a crash also plays a role. “Is it a rollover accident? Is it a side impact? Is it a front impact?”

Here’s what you need to know about how to pick the safest vehicle and where to sit in it. 

Why seat placement matters 

“As a preface, there is no universal safest seating position that applies to every car, minivan, SUV, and pickup truck,” Bloch explains. That being said, there’s strong statistical evidence that one seat has a slight edge above the rest. “The rear seat middle position would be the safest because you’re furthest away from side impact intrusion or penetration.”

According to one study that analyzed every fatal crash in the United States between 2000 and 2003, the chance of survival in the rear middle seat is on average 25 percent higher than in other positions in the car. 

The data becomes even more convincing when you look at younger passengers. It’s common knowledge that you should never, ever let a child sit in the front seat. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends waiting until kids are 13 to let them ride shotgun (no matter how much they beg to do so sooner). That’s because airbags are calibrated to adult bodies weighing around 150 pounds. Children’s bones are softer and can easily crack when hit with an airbag deployed at 200 miles an hour. 

But it’s not enough just to put a small child in the backseat. Another study, based on car insurance claims from December 1, 1998, to December 31, 2006, found that children ages three and under had a 43 percent lower risk of injury if they sat in the rear middle as opposed to the sides. In short, if you’re traveling with a little passenger, make sure to put them in your car’s safest seat: the rear middle.

That’s not the only thing to think about

Choosing where to sit can have a real effect, but Bloch cautions that it’s more important to pick the safest possible vehicle. After studying the issues and fighting for safer automobiles for roughly 50 years, he understands the pitfalls.

“You might reasonably assume that each automaker produces a vehicle that’s pretty comparable to others in terms of safety,” Bloch says. “But there are major differences, because the federal motor vehicle safety standards are only minimum requirements. So as long as you do the minimum, you can still sell your vehicle in America.” 

Oftentimes, the minimum isn’t enough, which is why it’s so important to ask the right questions at the car dealership. For starters, make sure that side curtain airbags protect every seat. Unlike front airbags, the risk of injury to kids is pretty minor from these side airbags, as long as they’re in carseats or buckled up.

“Some vehicles will have them for the driver’s row,” Bloch says, but not all. “And then there’s two rows behind them in an SUV. You have to make sure that the side curtain airbags protect all passengers in all rows.” 

Think about the windows and the roof

Another feature you want is laminated glass. Unlike tempered glass, which shatters easily, laminated glass is made of two thick pieces of glass sandwiching a type of durable resin called polyvinyl butyral (PVB) and is much more likely to hold together during impact. Laminated glass was first used for windshields in 1927. It continues to be the standard for the front windshield, but because it’s costlier to use, many car manufacturers use tempered glass for the side windows. 

“You want all of the side windows and the sunroof to be laminated glass,” Bloch says. “Because the tempered glass immediately shatters out into thousands of little pebbles of glass.”

Related Car Stories

Finally, you want to make sure that your car has a roof sturdy enough not to crumple in a rollover accident. “Whatever the type of vehicle you want, ask the [car dealer], ‘What is the strength-to-weight ratio of the roof of this vehicle that you want me to buy and risk my family’s life [in]?’” Bloch says. 

You’ll find cars on the market with a strength-to-weigh ratio of 2.5, but you’re looking for 4.0 or higher. That tells you that the roof can withstand four times the weight of the vehicle before it crushes down five inches. As long as all passengers are securely buckled, that dramatically ups the odds of survival in a rollover crash.

“Vehicles that have the safer, stronger roofs are basically at least 4.0, some are even 5.0 or higher,” Bloch says. “That tells you that the manufacturer cares about your safety if there should be an accident.”

In short, it pays to be smart when it comes to choosing which vehicle to drive and where to place your passengers. Aim to buy the safest car you can and make sure you keep kids or more vulnerable passengers in the rear middle seat. 

This story is part of Popular Science’s Ask Us Anything series, where we answer your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the ordinary to the off-the-wall. Have something you’ve always wanted to know? Ask us.

 

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