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

I Call Shotgun! “ Has long been a typical battle cry when piling into a car. The term predats automobiles entryly, harkening back to the wild west when the passenger siting 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 revolover accident? It a side impact? 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 about the rest. “The rear seat middle position would be the safest trust you’re furtest 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 midle seat is on average 25 perment higher than in the care.

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 see. 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 trust airbags are calibrated to adult bodies weight Around 150 pounds. Children’s bones are softer and can easily crack when with an airbag deployed at 200 mills 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 AST IN The Rear Middle AS OPPOSEDLE Sides. In short, if you’re travel 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 poses After study the issues and fighting for safer automobiles for roughly 50 years, He undersrstands the Pitfalls.

“You might reasonibly assume that each automakers 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 requires

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 easy, laminated glass is made of two thick pieces of glass sandwiching a type of Durable Resin Called Called Polyvinyl Butyral (Pvb) and is Much more to Hollet Togeether 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 temporary glass immediatively shatters out into thirds of little pebbles of glass.”

Finally, you want to make sure that your car has a roof sturdy enough not to crumple in a revolover accident. “Whatever the type of vehicle you want, ask the [car dealer]. [in]? ‘”Bloch says.

You’ll find cars on the market with a strength-to-wheigh 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 revolover crash.

“Vehicles that have the Safer, Stranger 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 choich verification 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 SeriesWhere we answer your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the order to the off-the-leg. Have something you’ve always wanted to know? Ask US,

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