Kids NOT in Car Seats
This morning on my way to work, I was driving next to a big SUV. In the front passenger seat...standing...was a little girl with ribbon in her hair; about two years old. The mother was busy talking to her and not paying much attention to the traffic around her. About the time I was trying to get behind her to jot down the license plate number, she turned off. My intention was to call the local police to see if they could nail that irresponsible woman (the mother?) with a big, fat ticket.
I spend a great deal of time in traffic and I see unrestrained kids quite often jumping around in the back seat. Or, I will see part of a little tiny head sitting in the front. The only more dangerous place for a child would be sitting on the top rack.
When my son (now 28) was an infant, my wife was broadsided by a car at an intersection. The car rolled over twice, breaking all of the windows. My seat-belted wife and car-seated son were uninjured. The Volvo station wagon (another reason why they were not hurt) was totaled.
Last night on the local news it was reported that a nine month old child was killed in a motor vehicle accident. He was in a car seat, but the car seat was just sitting on the backseat - not attached. The mother, restrained in her seatbelt, was not seriously injured...just in her heart. The pain of losing a child due to your own negligence is something she will live with every day of her life.
I grew up in the 1950's. Our cars did not have seatbelts. To make matters worse, we had hard steel dashboard, no head rests, and lots of sharp metal objects in the car to be impaled upon. I can vividly remember not only standing on the front seat as a five year old or lying in the back window. When I was 7 or 8 years old, I was permitted to sit on the top of the back seat of a convertible with the top open, while my parents happily sped down the road. I sometimes wonder if this was some sort of devious plan to get rid of me. Somehow, I survived my childhood and adolescence without ever using a seatbelt.
The first time that I even saw seatbelts in a care was in 1970 when I got my first used car. They were an "option" and had to be installed. Those old Volkswagens were like tin cans, so seatbelts were sort of a moot point if you were in a major accident. My first new car had seatbelts, but no shoulder restraints. This is the car that nearly killed me.
I was sitting in commuter traffic, having to stop relatively quickly. The things on my front seat fell on the passenger side floor. Since I was not moving, I decided to unbuckle and retrieve my papers. Seconds after I unbuckled, I was rear-ended at high speed by a bigger car. The impact slammed my little car into the car in front. In the blink of an eye, I was ejected through the front windshield onto the hood. I sustained some neck injuries (obviously, since my face went through the windshield first) and lots of cuts.
Several days after this accident, I went over to my friend's house to borrow his extra car. When he saw my cut up face, he asked me to wait. He went down the hall, woke up his teenage daughter and brought her out to see me.
"See what happens when you don't wear seat belts? Now, go back to bed." I was pleased that my bad example could be used for something good.
Our five children were always strapped in the best car seats we could buy. As infants, they looked like they were getting ready to be launched into space, or be transported around like Hannibal Lector. Using a seatbelt became so automatic for them, they did it thoughtlessly. I rarely had to remind them to buckle up. This example continued into the next generation - our grandchildren do this, too.
The number one cause of death in children is motor vehicle accidents - not cancer, not AIDS. Since children do not drive, it is up to the parents to set a good example, protect them in the best car seats, and always check and double-check that they are properly restrained. You never know when that drunk driver is going to swerve into your lane, or when that front tire will have a blow-out.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: car seats, seat belts, car safety, health and wellness
I spend a great deal of time in traffic and I see unrestrained kids quite often jumping around in the back seat. Or, I will see part of a little tiny head sitting in the front. The only more dangerous place for a child would be sitting on the top rack.
When my son (now 28) was an infant, my wife was broadsided by a car at an intersection. The car rolled over twice, breaking all of the windows. My seat-belted wife and car-seated son were uninjured. The Volvo station wagon (another reason why they were not hurt) was totaled.
Last night on the local news it was reported that a nine month old child was killed in a motor vehicle accident. He was in a car seat, but the car seat was just sitting on the backseat - not attached. The mother, restrained in her seatbelt, was not seriously injured...just in her heart. The pain of losing a child due to your own negligence is something she will live with every day of her life.
I grew up in the 1950's. Our cars did not have seatbelts. To make matters worse, we had hard steel dashboard, no head rests, and lots of sharp metal objects in the car to be impaled upon. I can vividly remember not only standing on the front seat as a five year old or lying in the back window. When I was 7 or 8 years old, I was permitted to sit on the top of the back seat of a convertible with the top open, while my parents happily sped down the road. I sometimes wonder if this was some sort of devious plan to get rid of me. Somehow, I survived my childhood and adolescence without ever using a seatbelt.
The first time that I even saw seatbelts in a care was in 1970 when I got my first used car. They were an "option" and had to be installed. Those old Volkswagens were like tin cans, so seatbelts were sort of a moot point if you were in a major accident. My first new car had seatbelts, but no shoulder restraints. This is the car that nearly killed me.
I was sitting in commuter traffic, having to stop relatively quickly. The things on my front seat fell on the passenger side floor. Since I was not moving, I decided to unbuckle and retrieve my papers. Seconds after I unbuckled, I was rear-ended at high speed by a bigger car. The impact slammed my little car into the car in front. In the blink of an eye, I was ejected through the front windshield onto the hood. I sustained some neck injuries (obviously, since my face went through the windshield first) and lots of cuts.
Several days after this accident, I went over to my friend's house to borrow his extra car. When he saw my cut up face, he asked me to wait. He went down the hall, woke up his teenage daughter and brought her out to see me.
"See what happens when you don't wear seat belts? Now, go back to bed." I was pleased that my bad example could be used for something good.
Our five children were always strapped in the best car seats we could buy. As infants, they looked like they were getting ready to be launched into space, or be transported around like Hannibal Lector. Using a seatbelt became so automatic for them, they did it thoughtlessly. I rarely had to remind them to buckle up. This example continued into the next generation - our grandchildren do this, too.
The number one cause of death in children is motor vehicle accidents - not cancer, not AIDS. Since children do not drive, it is up to the parents to set a good example, protect them in the best car seats, and always check and double-check that they are properly restrained. You never know when that drunk driver is going to swerve into your lane, or when that front tire will have a blow-out.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: car seats, seat belts, car safety, health and wellness
4 Comments:
I'm in my late 20's and I remember standing in the back seat of our car too. We use to sit in the front seat too. We would argue of shotgun all the time! It's now a law in my state you have to wear your seatbelt. I agree with the law. I really started to buckle up when I started to drive myself. My parents were not big on telling us to put it on. When I am driving others around I force them to wear it. My car does not move until everyone is buckled. If someone unbuckles while I am driving my sensors in my car let me know and I make them put it back on.
After being in 2 major accidents where they were NOT my fault I am a big advocate for seatbelts. They have saved my life twice.
It drives me CRAZY to see kids running around in a moving car. I call the police every time I see it. If I had the number for Child Protective Services I'd call them too!
I use seat belts every day for everyone of my four children. Thou I dont totally agree with whats being said. It is the law in my state so I set the proper example for my children we all buckle up all the time. But i personally know 2 people who have lost alot because of seat belts. My best friend died because i drunk driver hit her, her car over turned into a ditch with miniumal water in it. Her seat belt jammed, she could not release herself and was killed by drowning in 1 foot of water. Tho on the same hand her 7 yr daughter lived because she was thin enough to slip out of her belt. Now my nephew is permantly disabled, will never properly talk and can not walk because in a car accident the car seat, which was properly installed (those proven in law suit) the car seat actually shattered into 100's of pieces. My question would be do they help and should it be our discission? Is a few peoples lives killed by them, better than the ones whom were "saved" by them.
I'm only 18, so I don't remember when there weren't seat belts haha, but growing up both my parents always forced us to wear seatbelts. And we'd complain like crazy because "they're too uncomfortable and annoying" but they put up with all our whining. And once I started driving and watched all the scary videos in drivers ed then i REALLY was thankful my parents always made us. Since I got my license (2 years ago haha) I refuse to drive unless everyone has their seatbelt on. And my car I just purchased last month beeps at you if the people in front don't have it on (which I know alot do now. My daughter is 10 months old and everytime I put her in the car I make sure her carseat is in absolutely perfect!
My sister never wears her seatbelt and my 2 year old niece knows how to get out of her carseat so she'll unbuckle it and go sit in the front seat with her mom. She did that with me once and I pulled right over and put her back. I had to fight her on it bad but she knows now that with me she sure as heck better not take that seatbelt off and get out of her seat! Everyone tries to tell my sister (her husband doesn't wear his either) to wear it and especially do not let my niece do what she wants and I'm hoping they don't learn it the hard way!!
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