Missing Kid Alert
RV Safety Traveling with Kids
Road RisksSafety Tips

RV Summer Travel: How to Make it Fun and Keep it Safe

kshaver
July 3, 2019
3,592 comments
2 min read

I think everyone can agree that family road trips are much more fun when traveling in an RV. What most parents want and need to know is if the kids should be roaming around or tucked into their car seats while traveling from place to place.

We have the answers.

RV Classes

RVs have three different classes. Class A, Class B, and Class C. Class A is the largest type and generally weighs around 15,000 to 30,000 pounds. RV Consumer Reports (RVCG) claims that this type of RV, although the largest, has more structural issues than others.

Collisions at only 20 mph can cause serious damage and there are zero testings required for Class A RV rear crashes.

Class B is between 6,000 and 8,000 pounds and are required to meet safety standards for front-seating occupants – but not back. They may have only lap belts as opposed to safer options for kids.

Class C RVs are between 10,000 and 12,000 pounds and have a font cab with safety features. They also meet safety standards for the front seating positions, but not the rear.

Legal or Not – You Now Know the Facts

As you can see, the safety requirements for any RV are not met for children being restrained if the seats are rear-facing or if the child should be in mounted in a front-facing seat with rear-facing child seat – much less for roaming around. Only 26 states have seat belt RV seat belt requirements, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.

RVs provide a false sense of security based on their size alone. Don’t be fooled. When traveling with kids in any type of RV ensure that you have seat belts for every occupant you have on board and that all occupants are restrained during travel.

For children still in car seats, seat belts in rear-facing seats and side-facing seats should never be used. Keep your family adventure safe and when buying an RV ensure that it meets the requirements to retrain them according to all safety laws.

Check the Safety ratings and ask questions before buying or renting to ensure that you can travel the world in the safest way possible.

kshaver

View all posts

3,592 comments