What are parents thinking!!! (rant)

Lillys dad

Lillys dad

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In the local news today, a woman with her three kids (all under 4 years) and her boyfriend were in a car accident today. The accident was not all that bad. But because only one child (1 1/2 years old) was in a car seat. one toddler was last reported in critical condition with "severe head trauma" and the 3 year old is dead!
What the hell are these parents thinking! State law says that any child under 8 years or 80 lbs must be placed in a car seat or booster.
I can watch adults get slaughtered all day, they usually do/did something to deserve it. But it turns my stomach and breaks my heart watching a paramedic do CPR on a little kid because the parents are to lazy to buy and use a car seat. I lose my mind when I see a parent using thier child as a car bag driving down the road. You know what Im talking about, putting thier kid in thier lap while in a moving car. What do you think will happen to the kid when a full grown male (200+ lbs) gets launched forward at 40 mph, wat a rate of 3gs'?

Rant over..............
 
I EXACTLY agree with you. I always get mad at parents if they dont put their kids in their car seat or booster! Its pretty scary to know if they arent in their car seat or booster!
 
My all kids required seat back... not even in front.. Cuz, My son who is 8, He want to seat front. I said no way til I die ! ! lol


M-:afro:
 
Yeah I know, it used to be that parents could enjoy having the kids on their laps while they went for a Sunday drive after church and afternoon lunch. In those days there were not that too much alochol or drug related accidents or fatalites and people had way much better moral values in those days but now driving is not even safe anymore, with repeat drunk drivers set loose on the roads / highways, man even now we have a rash of highway shootings. That is sick, man !!!!! The highway is supposed to be the backbone of the American family in a family oriented driving environment and it is where American businesses moves their goods through these 18 wheelers. Today it is better to have the kids in the backseat in one of those child seat boosters and I saw an adversitment recently on t.v. a policeman prefers to write tickets than to pick up a dead child. Next time you grumble about that ticket, just think of those things, man what if that was your son or daughter laying dead on the road on that sunny nice warm day outside ? The memories would be very vivid, man !!!!! Be happy to take a ticket than to pay for your own children's funeral caskets and the hospital/funeral expenses. Says a quiet prayer and God Bless ..... :angel:
 
Norway has a good commercial... "enjoy" (at least - I thought I saw it here, or was it on dutch TV??)

And a look at this doesn't hurt either..

Police should just post outside kindergarten and fine anyone that doesn't secure the child.
And make them watch some footage of accidents with unsecured children.... That would save some lives!
 
I agreed!!! My son still in booster seat. Our law said up to 7 years old and must be in car seat/booster seats till 7 years old (weigh I don't remember). So he don't mind the booster seat. I know in my heart he wanted to be out of it. I told him no. Not till you turn 7 years old.
 
Are you sure the state laws says that any child under 8 years or 80 lbs must be placed in a car seat or booster? My Ohio laws says that any child at the age of 4 weights over 40 pounds can be without a car seat or booster chair.
 
Cheri said:
Are you sure the state laws says that any child under 8 years or 80 lbs must be placed in a car seat or booster? My Ohio laws says that any child at the age of 4 weights over 40 pounds can be without a car seat or booster chair.
Click to expand...
Could be that it's allowed. That doesn't mean it's safe!!!
 
Lillys´s dad,

I have a question for you... Your thread here sounds that you all don´t have law for children´s seat safety in your country? or no obligation? Right?

Here in Germany is stricter about children´s safety. We will pay $100 per child fine if the police see our children without use children seat or booster.

I really don´t understand why the parents don´t care about their children´s safety. It´s disgusit...
 
Are you sure the state laws says that any child under 8 years or 80 lbs must be placed in a car seat or booster? My Ohio laws says that any child at the age of 4 weights over 40 pounds can be without a car seat or booster chair.

Yes, that is the state law in teh state of Missouri. I know, I am a police officer in teh state of missouri. I took a continuing education course on childseat safety earlier this year. This is the law in MO.

have a question for you... Your thread here sounds that you all don´t have law for children´s seat safety in your country? or no obligation? Right?


Wrong. We have seat belt laws. Any child under 8 years old, or 80 pounds much be in an approved car seat or booster seat. Anyone over 8 years old, they must have a seat belt on. Unless they are in a truck. If in a truck, and over 16 years of age, you do not have to wear a seat belt. I disagree with this portion of the law. This is due to lobbyists fighting for farmers that do not want to wear a seat belt.
 
Cheri said:
Are you sure the state laws says that any child under 8 years or 80 lbs must be placed in a car seat or booster? My Ohio laws says that any child at the age of 4 weights over 40 pounds can be without a car seat or booster chair.
Click to expand...

Yep. That's the law in Ohio.
 
South Carolina’s child passenger restraint law

Synopsis of law:
South Carolina’s child passenger restraint law requires that:
  • Children from birth to 1 year old, or who weigh less than 20 pounds, must be secured in a rear-facing child safety seat.
  • Children 1 through 5 years old weighing 20 to 40 pounds must be restrained in a forward-facing child seat.
  • Children 1 through 5 years old weighing 40 to 80 pounds must be secured in a belt-positioning booster seat.
  • Children under the age of 6 are not required to be in booster seats if they weigh more than 80 pounds or if they can sit with their backs against the car's seat and bend their legs over the seat edge without slouching.
  • Children under 6 may not sit in the front passenger seat. However, this restriction does not apply if the vehicle has no rear passenger seats or if all other rear passenger seats are occupied by children less than 6 years old.
  • Violators are subject to a $25 fine. This law does not apply to taxis, church, school and day care buses, or commercial vehicles.
 
Child Safety Seat Fitting Stations

List courtesy of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA

Did you know that in the United States, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has found that about 80 percent of all child restraint devices used are placed in the vehicle improperly. In recent child safety clinics in South Carolina, safety seat technicians found about 98 percent of the seats they checked were improperly installed in some way.

Even if you follow the instructions closely, it is sometimes difficult to get your child safety seat installed just right to protect your child in a crash. To help parents and caregivers, South Carolina has child safety seat fitting stations in areas around the state. These stations provide assistance to parents by certified safety seat technicians when their schedule permits, either through appointments and/or special days of the month, etc. This is a service to assist parents in protecting their children. No citations will be issued at these checks.
 
New York State Child Passenger Restraint Law


Children ages 4, 5,and 6, riding in any seating position of a motor vehicle will be required to be restrained in an appropriate child restraint system.

Q. What does "child restraint system" mean?

A child restraint system is any device, used in conjunction with safety belts, designed for use in a motor vehicle to restrain, seat, or position children and meets the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards set forth in 49 C.F.R. 571.213.

Q. What are they?

It may be a child safety seat or harness/vest or booster seat. (The vehicle's safety belts are not a child restraint system.)

Q. What does "appropriate" mean?

An appropriate child restraint system is one that meets the child's height, weight, and size according to the manufacturer's recommendation for that restraint system.

Q. What is the fine for a violation?

Fines will range from $25 to $100 for violations.

Q. What is the occupant restraint law for children who are under the age of 4?

Children under the age of 4 are required to be restrained in a federally approved child safety seat when riding in a motor vehicle. If the weight of a child under the age of 4 exceeds 40 pounds, the child may be restrained in an appropriate child restraint system, allowing the child to use a booster seat.

Q. Does the new law apply to school buses?

No. However, children under the age of 4 must be restrained in a federally approved child safety seat when riding in a school bus. Liveries, taxis, and public transportation buses are exempt from the occupant restraint law.

Q. Once a child turns 4 years old, should he or she be in a booster seat?

Not necessarily. Choose the restraint system that will fit your child's weight and size. Read the manufacturer's instructions and recommendations for that particular seat. For maximum protection, keep a child in a forward-facing child safety seat with full internal harness until they reach the manufacturer's recommendations for upper size limits. The harness provides upper body, head, and neck protection.

Q. Who should use a booster seat?

The next step of children who have outgrown a forward-facing child safety seat is a booster seat, usually when a child weighs more than 40 pounds or grows more than 40 inches in height.

Q. What type of booster seat should you use?

There are two major types of belt-positioning booster seats:

1. Backless or low-back booster seats are used in vehicles with a high seat back in which the child's head can be supported by the vehicle seat back or head restraint.
2. High-back booster seats are used in vehicles with a low seat back where there is no vehicle seat back or head restraint to support the child's head and neck.

Booster seats must be used with both the lap and shoulder belt. A booster seat should never be used with a lap belt only.

Q. When should you move your child from a booster seat to an adult seat belt?

Your child should stay in a booster seat until the adult seat belt fits him or her properly. This is usually when your child reaches 4'9" in height and is about 8 years old. Please make sure that your child meets all of the following requirements for a proper seat belt fit:

1. The lap belt should be low across the upper thighs or hips, not across the abdomen.
2. The shoulder belt should lie across the chest and shoulder, not touching the neck or face.
3. Your child should be able to sit with his or her back straight against the vehicle seat back with knees bent at the seat's edge without slouching.
4. Your child should be able to ride this way for the entire trip.
 
Ohio state law requires that children under four years old and under 40 pounds must ride in a car seat or booster that is appropriate for the child's age and weight. Children under one year old and under 20 pounds must ride in a rear-facing car seat...

No one seat is the "best" or "safest." The best seat is the one that fits your child's size

Booster seats are designed to raise your child so that the lap and shoulder seat belts fit properly. This means the lap belt lies low across your child's thighs and the shoulder belt crosses the middle of your child's chest and shoulder. Correct belt fit helps protect the stomach, spine, and head from injury in case of a crash. Both high-back and backless booster seats are available. Booster seats should be used until your child can correctly fit in lap and shoulder seat belts....
Click to expand...


While most state laws covers children until age 7, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends children remain in booster seats until they reach 4-feet-9 inches tall or 80 pounds.. Since the weight limits of booster seats vary by model, parents should double-check first..
 
Reba, As I said in an earlier post, I have been trained in proper car seat installation. I have inspected several car seats. I can tell you for a fact that your post is very true. A few weeks ago, we had to shuffle around some car seats. We are taking turns driving Lilly to and from school to daycare. The other family sends thier daughter to the same daycare, so we take turns picking them up. Anyway, after everyone got thier new cars seats (6 seats in all, including grandparents seats), I went around and checked them. The only seat that was properly secured was the one that I installed! I spent a few hours correctly installing the seats.
There are soooo many variations of seats and seat belts, that it can be very confusing.
 
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