Death NapThe dangers of tilting back the front seat—don't do it!

Remarks from the Fray:

This is not news, did not warrant an article, and does not impose any requirements for warning labels.

I think an exact parallel is windows. Most cars these days are equipped with these devices, which I will explain for the benefit of folks like Emily Bazelon: they are hard clear flat objects which are commonly placed on doors and at the front of the car, allowing light but not wind or small objects to pass through. Glass also creates a "greenhouse effect" in a car when it's sitting in the sun, potentially roasting anyone who can't crack the windows, like a child or a dog. But there is no warning label to this effect on windows! Bazelon should get to work on that scandal.

--hyperionred

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The theory of 3 point restraints (i.e., lap and shoulder belts) is that they give much more protection to your upper body by restraining you from flying forward into the dashboard in a collision. That's why automakers and regulators switched from the original lap belt design to the lap and shoulder belt.

But when you are lying down, you don't want the shoulder belt on you. All you want is the lap belt to hold you into your seat. Then, if you fly forward, you won't hit the dash, and you also won't ride up on the shoulder belt.

So when you recline back, put the lap belt around your waist but then put the shoulder belt UNDER you. The tensioner should still stop the belt from loosening in an accident, if it is working properly.

This isn't as safe as not sleeping in the car at all, but remember, sleeping in the passenger seat is often what makes long drives possible with 2 drivers.

--Dilan Esper

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Of all the odd small facts to know, how are we supposed to know this unless we are told? Not all of us are engineers. Hey, it is safer to be rear facing in a car seat, but most of us turn our kids around at 1 year and 20lbs, when it would be far safer to keep them RF until they outgrow a rear facing car seat. Did you know that is what the American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending?

You can buy car seats that FF at 20lbs, but that isn't the wisest choice, but how is someone to know, unless they are told? Submarining is the same type of situation as internal decapitation. Most people have never heard about it until told. It should be more clear, as it does effect peoples safety.

It would be VERY easy to make it so a seat cannot recline while driving, or beep at you if a seat is reclined while driving, just like it beeps if your seatbelt is off. It should be one of those built in safety features.

Lots of us have reclined in seats while driving, her article just helps us realize that it isn't safe, and that is a good article worth publishing.

--mommyof3

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I've always suspected that it's dangerous to ride with a severely reclined seat (say, a 150-degree angle), as many people do when they're sleeping. I'd agree that in that extreme, the concept is pretty intuitive.

But what if the seat is reclined only a small amount? Does that pose a significant risk? If so, what is the optimal angle? 90 degrees?

If only a small recline poses real risk, then I don't think a call for greater awareness is misplaced at all. The layperson can't really predict the physics of a car crash; if the fit of the belt feels normal, how else would one know?

--modenastradale

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Car seats should not recline. If engineers made the decision, car seats would recline at no more than 10% for safety's sake. It is the sales division that insists that car seats recline because people would refuse to buy a car with a seat that did not go back.

Having said that: you do not need to be reclined to submarine. It can also happen as a result of poor lower-back posture. Your hips should be against the back of the seat for the 3-point harness to work properly (though it's safer to slump with belt than with no belt).

--Argh

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