Naps in the tilt-back shot-gun seat while another person continues driving are not satisfactory for me. Better would be a removable or storable seat or two that would allow a small single mattress on the floor. But that solution, say my family, doesn’t allow the necessary seat belt protection. Any suggestions on methods or vehicles allowing safe napping?
Don’t let your friend drive, heading back from Mardi Gras, he thought it would be funny to pull off and go south instead of north, switched drivers, 150 miles I think till the driver realized we were going the wrong direction , wasted hours. Timmy is in jail now for other things but we had some laughs.
How safe is safe? Drive a van or wagon with a mattress in the back…Nobody lives forever…
Lying down while not restrained by belts will be bad news in the event of a collision. The human body can fold up amazingly small; as I witnessed one night while trying to help extricate 2 guys out of a mangled car involved in a head-on collision.
Yes, like Ok said there’s no safe way to do this. If that’s not a priority do what feels comfortable.
You could fit some sort of 6-point racing harness in the back but you do so at your own risk, they are not generally approved for this purpose. They do make systems to allow children who have no other option to lie down in the back seat and be buckled into the factory belts but for Adults it’s difficult to find a similar product.
It’s not even ideal napping in a reclined seat, as it’s easy to slide under the seatbelt. Airbags and seatbelts were designed with people sitting upright in mind. Not that this stops me from leaning back and resting a bit, but I know I’m not as well protected in that position.
On the floor or across seats you’d need some kind of special harness to anchor you to the floor/seat. Not realistic. Motorhomes have cautions about people in the back only sitting in seats equipped with seatbelts.
In the back of most semi sleeper cabs are bunk style beds. Each one comes with a seat belt net that attaches to the front of the bunk and above each bunk. You might be able to buy one of those and anchor it to existing seat belt buckles and other hardware.
Another alternative is to put on some kind of harness and anchor it to the seat belt buckles. Think of it as this kind of thing, but for people: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4092374&f=PAD%2FpsNotAvailInUS%2FNo
Don't let your friend drive, heading back from Mardi Gras, he thought it would be funny to pull off and go south instead of north, switched drivers, 150 miles I think till the driver realized we were going the wrong direction , wasted hours. Timmy is in jail now for other things but we had some laughs.
Buddy of mine at work was telling of a road trip him and one of his friends went on years ago. He was asleep in the passenger seat and his buddy pulled into a truck stop at night. The guy pulled up in front of a parked semi truck with its lights on, then the guy laid on his horn and yelled "OH S$%*. He wakes up to see a semi truck inches from their car.
Even 30~40 years later, he’s never forgiven him for that, and refuses to be a passenger in his buddy’s car. He can laugh about it now, but I imagine he had to change his underwear when it happened