Toddler In The Tractor

Here's a question my wife and I thought about this morning. Crete/Shaffer offers a very generous rider program. Depending on the age of the child, the driver can take along his/her child AND spouse. In fact, I believe if the child is young enough, the company requires that there is another adult along besides the driver, obviously for safety reasons. So, my wife and I are thinking about taking our daughter with us on the road periodically. Of course I want to be comfortable enough before I'd have the added distraction of my wife and child ;) Also not sure how much experience the company wants a rookie driver to have before allowing passengers.

Here's the question: what are the laws with a child in a tractor? I'm referring specifically to car seats. You've got your passenger seat, and then the bunk(s). I"m wondering if it's actually safe to have a small child along w/o a car seat (if that's what you do w/ a truck). Depending on how long Crete/Shaffer want their drivers to be behind the wheel before allowing children, my daughter would be close to 3 years old. Is there a place for a car seat? In a regular vehicle, car seats have to be in the back. Is there even a law for a car seat in a tractor?

Another thought I had, I'm wondering if it would even be 'fair' to a toddler to have them in a truck for hours on end. Kind of like having a breed of dog that needs to be exercised frequently. I wouldn't want my little girl gnawing on our shoes or truck seats because she simply needed to run around ;)

We're very curious about the car seat in the tractor. We also want to be safe!

Most insurance companies want the kid to be at least 10 to 12 years of age. The thing is there are 2 seat belts on the tractor. A third person can be in the bunk and since most kids that young need will need to be in a car seat anytime the vehicle is moving I don't see how that will work out.

I don't know how it would work either, but I'm not making this stuff up! I was curious what you guys had to say about it, didn't know if anybody w/ younger kids has done this. Here's Crete's generous rider policy: -Spouse -One child, stepchild, foster-child, niece, nephew or grandchild 4 years of age or younger, provided they are accompanied by the non-driving spouse or adult -One child, stepchild, foster-child, niece, nephew or grandchild 5 - 18 years of age, without the non-driving spouse or adult -One adult 19 years or older

9ne thing besides accidents that scares me with having a kid that young on a trucks.....kids are often sick as they are growing up as they build up an immune system. Not going to be able to run to the doctor everytime the kid catches a cold. Not happening.

9ne thing besides accidents that scares me with having a kid that young on a trucks.....kids are often sick as they are growing up as they build up an immune system. Not going to be able to run to the doctor everytime the kid catches a cold. Not happening.

Very good point!

Bringing her along for short trips - maybe a few days or so - wouldn't be a real big deal. In fact, there are people who have raised children that way, home-schooling them and everything. Very, very few people mind you, but it's been done.

I think you'll have a much better idea of what suits your daughter once you've been out there. For instance, my sister would have been a catastrophe on the road. She was like a windup toy that wouldn't stop. She'd climb on everything, climb up trees, get into everything - she was a nightmare. I was the opposite. I could literally sit for 3 or 4 hours at a time putting together a puzzle when I was like 5 years old. I was very calm.

So personality will certainly play into it.

But you'll see real soon that life on the road is no life at all for a young child after about two days. At first it's a novelty, and then it wears off quickly.

You hit the nail on the head Brett. My girl's a live wire. I'm wondering how that would look in a truck ;) Depending on what kind of job I can get w/ Crete/Shaffer, I'll be able to have a better idea if it's a good idea. Even a week on the road might be a little much.

Any thoughts on what to do w/ a car seat? I'm about to call Crete and talk to them about the legality of it. Obviously they have their policy of allowing children 4 years or younger, and have cleared that w/ their insurance, so perhaps they know about the car seat info. On top of being safe, I want to be legal. I think I'll also try contacting the local police department, since they have programs for parents where they show how to install a car seat in a vehicle, maybe they'll know about what to do w/ a tractor.

I have no idea what the laws say about a car seat in a truck to be honest. I don't have kids. But I have a lot of farm animals so if you'd like to take some chickens, turkeys, or maybe a beef steer with you I can give you some tips on bedding and feed.

Well, at least they would be contributing by providing some eggs and milk or something, rather than just take, take, taking like a toddler!

I'm waiting for an officer to call me back, whether I get info from them, or someobody else they might direct me towards, I'll post what I find out for the common good ;) I'm assuming the laws to be the same across the states, but that's just an assumption. There's got to be some safety laws in place, whether federal or by state, in regard to child safety and car seats in a tractor.