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Baby Safe?

15K views 17 replies 13 participants last post by  Jon M 
#1 ·
Hey everybody. I have a 97 TJ and my wife is 10 weeks and 3 days pregnant. I am very excited. I have done some research on safety and child seats. I am looking for info on Jeep Wrangler safety stats. Where can I find them? The 03 and later TJ’s have child seat restraints correct? I love my Jeep but baby comes first. I might have to sell the Jeep for a family ride. What do people think of the Patriot?
 
#2 ·
I walked away from the crash with a semi v.s my 00 tj. Outside looked like well, it was hit by a semi. Inside was fine except for the deployed airbags. Over all they are safe. Mine was a front/side hit. In a rear hit, results might not be as good. Our main Child transporter is a 97 grand cherokee.
 
#4 ·
My brothers and I used to ride in the hatch area of corvettes when we were kids. Or inside of open coolers when we were on the boat. Obviously not the "safest" ways to travel but we are all still here more then 30 years later. Having said that I'm sure your TJ is safe but there will always be a safer vehicle/child seat out there.
 
#5 ·
The main thing may be "enough room" in the wrangler. There is tons of crap you have to carry with a newborn. You start piling in strollers a diaper bag and pack-n-play and there is zero room for anything else let alone that stuff. I had to ditch my '01 sport for a family car until she got old enough she didn't need all that. Safety can be compromised in any vehicle, it all depends on what kind of accident you have.
 
#6 ·
Hey everybody. I have a 97 TJ and my wife is 10 weeks and 3 days pregnant. I am very excited. I have done some research on safety and child seats. I am looking for info on Jeep Wrangler safety stats. Where can I find them? The 03 and later TJ’s have child seat restraints correct? I love my Jeep but baby comes first. I might have to sell the Jeep for a family ride. What do people think of the Patriot?
my only beef with a patriot is front wheel drive.
 
#7 ·
Congrats on the new one on the way. Yes I have kids, all boys, and I know what is going through your mind. I have had both a Wrangler and a Cherokee and both are safe vehicles. You have a full roll cage with the Wrangler and the Cherokee has its internal structure support. The only thing I would change with an infant is to make sure and add a tethering strap. You probably do not have a car seat yet, but you will know what I mean once you get one. A Cherokee will be easier to get an infant in and out of especially at first as it needs to be a rear facing car seat. Just remember to never put a young one in the front seat with an air bag.
 
#8 ·
Congrats! My little one is coming up on 1 year. He loves it. Since he is so big I now have him forward facing in the rear passenger side to I can look back at him. He loves looking out and around since he sits higher in the car seat he can see what's going on. The car seat, an Evenflo Sympony 65 (which I highly recommend for mine and it's reviews) is too big in the TJ to fit rear facing. I'm sure a smaller infant carrier will fit fine rear facing though. The only prob will be getting him/her into it. We also have the wagon family hauler but I enjoy taking him out in the Jeep. There is a teather strap attachment behind the rear seat for when you do switch to forward facing, but I'm not sure at what year LATCH was included. Good luck!
 
#9 ·
Get a 4 door JK Rubi, put a little quality armor on it, (meaning - not tube style) some rock rails, reinforce the cage, maybe some full corners in the rear and some good after market bumpers and you'll be riding in a very safe AND capable off road vehicle.

AND you'll have all the room you need for your family.
 
#11 ·
1 year olds are still TOO SMALL To be facing forward...check your state laws on seatbelt and child restraint laws...doesn't matter what your problem is with 'not enough room' or whatever to put a child seat in correctly-the law is the law and it is a safety issue, not a 'convenience for you' issue.
TJ's...if there is a tether strap I've never heard of it..and it really IS a pain putting in the correct safety seat for our grandson-usually my wife would put him in from the front and I'd be leaning in from the rear window to strap him down. Now that he is almost 5 and weighs enough he is in a front facing seat...and if we have the softtop on we just open the side window and throw him right in...he loves going offroading and doing the 'bumpdebumpdebump' with Grumpy and Grammie in the jeep!
He's also autistic so it was great to find something we can do with him he enjoys.
front seat 'flip latch' isn't working now-so it is really going to be a pain when I put the hardtop on for the winter to get him in. Anyone ever fixed a faulty 'flip latch'?
 
#15 ·
The recommendation is rear facing. If the child can hold their head up or is larger forward facing is ok. Yes, rear facing is the safest for the child and rear facing is recommended for as long as possible, but it is not against the law for a child to sit front facing. Unfortunately I bought the largest, safest car seat I could find, based on all of my research. After purchasing and discussing with my wife we decided front facing would be ok based on our childs size and physical abilities. BTW I am a traffic cop. And also look at your owners manual, it will tell you where the TEATHER is located in your vehicle.

Florida Statute 316.613
Child restraint requirements.

(1)(a) Every operator of a motor vehicle as defined herein, while transporting a child in a motor vehicle operated on the roadways, streets, or highways of this state, shall, if the child is 5 years of age or younger, provide for protection of the child by properly using a crash-tested, federally approved child restraint device. For children aged through 3 years, such restraint device must be a separate carrier or a vehicle manufacturer’s integrated child seat. For children aged 4 through 5 years, a separate carrier, an integrated child seat, or a seat belt may be used.

(b) The Division of Motor Vehicles shall provide notice of the requirement for child restraint devices, which notice shall accompany the delivery of each motor vehicle license tag.


(2) As used in this section, the term “motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle as defined in s. 316.003 that is operated on the roadways, streets, and highways of the state. The term does not include:
(a) A school bus as defined in s. 316.003(45).

(b) A bus used for the transportation of persons for compensation, other than a bus regularly used to transport children to or from school, as defined in s. 316.615(1)(b), or in conjunction with school activities.

(c) A farm tractor or implement of husbandry.

(d) A truck having a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 26,000 pounds.

(e) A motorcycle, moped, or bicycle.


(3) The failure to provide and use a child passenger restraint shall not be considered comparative negligence, nor shall such failure be admissible as evidence in the trial of any civil action with regard to negligence.

(4) It is the legislative intent that all state, county, and local law enforcement agencies, and safety councils, in recognition of the problems with child death and injury from unrestrained occupancy in motor vehicles, conduct a continuing safety and public awareness campaign as to the magnitude of the problem.

(5) Any person who violates the provisions of this section commits a moving violation, punishable as provided in chapter 318 and shall have 3 points assessed against his or her driver’s license as set forth in s. 322.27. In lieu of the penalty specified in s. 318.18 and the assessment of points, a person who violates the provisions of this section may elect, with the court’s approval, to participate in a child restraint safety program approved by the chief judge of the circuit in which the violation occurs, and upon completing such program, the penalty specified in chapter 318 and associated costs may be waived at the court’s discretion and the assessment of points shall be waived. The child restraint safety program must use a course approved by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and the fee for the course must bear a reasonable relationship to the cost of providing the course.


History.
— s. 1, ch. 82-58; s. 1, ch. 86-49; s. 2, ch. 87-200; s. 2, ch. 91-136; s. 28, ch. 94-306; s. 903, ch. 95-148; s. 35, ch. 96-350; s. 56, ch. 99-8; s. 240, ch. 99-248; s. 1, ch. 99-316; s. 18, ch. 2000-313; s. 40, ch. 2005-164; s. 9, ch. 2008-176.
 
#12 ·
So far as the Wrangler TJ's safety record goes, insurance industry actuarial data show it to be "safer than average". I wish the website that had that information was still up but it isn't available any longer. It showed that when in an accident, occupants in a Wrangler TJ were injured less seriously on average and less likely to be injured at all. Repairs were also less costly than average. It actually costs less to insure a Wrangler TJ than most cars for those reasons.

Why? The Wrangler has the much stronger body-on-frame construction plus it is heavier than most cars. Today's cars are very light with uniframe construction that aren't nearly as strong as a body-on-frame design which is what all big trucks use. :)
 
#13 ·
I recently had twins and can weigh in some (or for future search reference).
My twins are now 6 months old and so far the TJ has worked out perfect.
Twins love it and both fit fine rear facing. I have little to no problem getting them in and out. I either slide the seat (2005 rolls fwd also) or I just unzip the rear window. It's almost easier than getting them in and out of our Discovery.
I do have to slide the seats forward slightly, but not far. We use Graco Snugrides, which are by no means the smallest available car seats. I've been told Babies R Us will let you test fit the car seats in your car to find one you like best so I'd do that (we bought ours because my wife liked the colors :doh: ) As far as saftey is concerned I've read nothing but good reviews about crash standards (as Jerry stated above)

My $.02. If you have another car that you can travel in, don't sell the Wrangler! There certianly isn't enough cargo room for us to go on vacation with all the equipment required, but since we have a second vehicle for that, then I've been able to keep the wrangler. Plus as the kids get older, it will get easier and I can only imagine they will love riding in it more and more. Having a 2nd vehicle is key though. Rarely do we actually have to have the kids ride in the jeep for an extended period of time.

Crash-test Ratings, Recalls & Consumer Reviews for the 2005 Jeep Wrangler
 
#16 ·
Here's a data point for you, which you can give you wife.

We're expecting our first in November and I just bought a TJ. Now, granted I went for an LJ for the cargo space, but still. It wasn't a matter of safety, but just a matter of space. I looked at the fleet, at the growing family, said, "I don't need two, 2-seat sports cars and I really want to get back into a Jeep". So, I kept my Rx-7 and traded in the Miata on the Jeep.

My wife has a Saab, so that will do as a family ride when the need arises, realistically the kid will be in her car 90% of the time anyway. I guess what I'm getting at, is that I just bought my LJ as my "Family Ride". If you're concerned about space, why not see about trading from TJ -> LJ? The LJ is truly cavernous in comparison.

For what it's worth, Cherokees are great too. My first "car" (Jeep) was an '86 Cherokee. I was looking at XJ's, but ultimately decided to go with the TJ because they're way easier to find with fewer miles and the newest ones are only 4 years old. With the little one coming, I wanted something I could drive for a couple years before really needing to worry about high-mileage maintenance stuff. I couldn't seem to find any XJ's within a 100 mile radius with fewer than 100K miles.

Anyway, best of luck and congrats!
 
#17 ·
Okay, didn't want to start a 'legal statute fight' here...my apologies...I will defer to the 'man in blue' that he obviously would know more than me. My information is mostly from all the safety ads and commercials, parenting books, hospital handouts, etc. that we get showered with constantly. Being overconcerned grandparents (and having son and daughterinlaw with parenting skill problems) we try to keep up with everything.
I did do a google just to see what the law says for NH, and it is very vague, refers to this from the goverment...- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration unless you want a severe headache don't try to read it...it's the gobbledegook that lawyers make money off of. And I really didn't learn anything from it other than I need more drugs...LOL...
just keep in mind offroading with a jeep tends to have a lot of front end 'severe fast stops' with rocks and trees...and the little guy's NECK isn't strong enough to withstand that whiplash no matter how good the sit is if he is facing forward....and if you have to put him in the front seat, disable the airbag-it can kill him....
happy jeeping, good luck, have fun....stay safe out there!
 
#18 ·
No prob here. Thanks. But I wear a white uniform shirt :)

Yea, no plans here to do any serious stuff with him in the back until he's a bit bigger. New to the off road jeep thing anyway.
 
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