How do you guys feel about the booster seat laws being put in place?

[saddina]

You can buy a van with 15 seats, and most boosters have narrow bases, now carseats that stay strapped in are differant. (and by narrow bases, I mean smaller than my hips, and I'm also 5'0). Cars have changed, it used to be lap belts in the back, now it's shoulder and lap belts.

I have a "erogonic cushion" that's designed for long distance driving, I use it as a grown up "booster" when I drive.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Personally I hate it when the government tries to mandate laws like
this.

My son had the boosters until he reached the legal weight to go without
them. My mom, mil, and DWW(darling wretched wife) still used the
booster for a while just to be safe. Its hard to argue with something
that can preven injuries.


I think what bugs me the most is the fact these laws are there because
of the insurance companies and special interest groups. They aren't
there because anyone really cares about the safety of a child.


I dunno.

I rode my motorcycle all day today without a seatbelt or helmet. Then
I got in my 6000 pound steel pickup and had to wear my seatbelt
or risk a ticket and, in CT, any ticket becomes public information.

Now, I could have legally put my son on the back of my bike if I
wanted to.


I dunno

 

[Smartie_Pants]

I've also heard of a lot more instances than you would think where a person or child was thrown out of the car, and that actually saved their life. I know their have been quite a few people in the past few years who have died because their cars caught on fire and they couldn't get out because they could get to the fastener on the seat belt.

I know seatbelts are safe most of the time, but they do have their flaws and faults too. I think as long as you aren't endangering someone else, then they shouldn't have the right to say what you do. For instance, I am strongly for heavy prosecution of drunk drivers, but seatbelts should be your own personal choice.

 

[saddina]

Honey I'm going to be as sweet as I can.

A catostropic car accident is nothing to play with. Even with the best safety precautions, the only thing that truly protects you is the precautions you take, and the ability of the drivers. I lost both my child and husband in a few seconds. The seat belt kept me back in the seat, but the car still collapsed around us. My husband was a tall man and he came in contact with the steel and windshield. You don't know when the day comes that your luck has run out, untill it's too late. If I was driving would they both be here? I don't know, but I do know the seat belt kept my head away from the colapsing front of the car.

 

[PurpleChicken]

I always wear my seatbelt and feel naked without it. There is no doubt
in my mind that seatbelts save lives. Sure, there are isolated incidences
where they can hurt but overall they should be worn.

My problem is the government mandating things. IMO the gov should
require car manufacturers to install the best restraint systems possible
BUT it should be the drivers CHOICE to wear it or not.

I can legally climb a mountain. I can legally eat at McDonalds. I can
legally ride a motorcycle. When is the gov, under pressure from the big
money, going to start telling me more things I can't do?

For me this is about personal liberties and the massive size and power
of our government.

Keeping my child safe is a no-brainer.


edited to add:
I went through the windshield of my mom's car when I was 8. I was in
the front seat, no seatbelt, and no booster. Mom should have been more
careful. I was lucky.

 

[PotterWatch]

My husband is a paramedic. He has seen kids and adults time after time after time, lying on the road dead because no one bothered to click a seat belt into place. Our kids only get out of boosters when the seat belt fits them properly without one. Check out some of these statistics:

In 2005, more than 15,000 people died in traffic crashes during evening hours and a whopping two-thirds were not wearing seatbelts. Evening seatbelt use decreases about 10 percent from daytime use.

The percentage of people unbuckled who were hurt or killed in vehicle accidents, costs the U.S. $18 billion a year in medical, insurance and overhead costs.

Auto accidents are the number one killer of children ages 4 to 14. In 2005, an average of five children died each day and another 640 were injured daily in auto accidents.

The main reason is improper use of seatbelts, booster seats and child restraints. Almost 100 percent of infants and 93 percent of small children currently buckle up in the U.S. The safety problems occur because not enough children are belted properly.

A miserable 10 to 20 percent of children who should use booster seats use them. A child in a booster seat is 59 percent less likely to be injured or killed in an auto accident than a child restrained by a seatbelt only.



Wearing a seatbelt or having a child in a booster doesn't guarantee walking away from an accident, but it sure increases the odds. I don't have a problem with an adult choosing not to wear their seatbelt. They have the ability to make that decision based on a knowledge of what could happen. Children don't have that ability, so it is our job as adults to protect them with seatbelts until they are old enough to make that choice for themselves.

 

[Smartie_Pants]

Quote:
I know what you're saying, and I respect it. I think that you and your kids should wear a seatbelt to protect yourselves, but only if that is your wish. People who know the risk of not wearing a seatbelt and still choose not to should be able to make that choice. I always wear one, even if just driving across a parking lot, but I know my dad never wears one. He has a serious bladder condition, and the seatbelt puts a lot of pressure on his bladder and causes him a lot more pain, on top of the pain he already has to deal with. That's his choice for his own reasons.

Just 8 weeks ago, a boy in my grade was in a terrible accident. He flatlined and had to be life flown to Vanderbilt, and is now in a rehab facility. He suffer a lot of brain damage and now has trouble remembering, walking, talking, etc, but he's getting better by the grace of God. There is really NO REASON he should have lived. His neck was broken, his pelvis and legs fractured, he had brain damage, lacerated kidney's and liver, two collapsed lungs, and his speen was so damaged it had to be removed. That seatbelt and God's grace are probably the only reason he is alive.

I just think that it should be everyone's choice for themselves and their families. They are adults and no the consequences. If they choose to risk it, its none of my business, or anyone elses, to tell them that its wrong.

 

[LA~Poulet]

Purplechicken, regarding your comment about these laws being in place b/c of insurance purposes & special interest groups, not to save a child,

Insurance might be part of the reason, but I remember receiving fliers and emails about a woman who had lost her 6 year old son b/c he flew out of his seatbelt & out a window when a car hit their suburban, and he was killed instantly. She made it her mission to mandate boosters and raise public education about the inefficiency of seatbelts for children, in the late 90s? If I had to guess, I'd think her organization (the name escapes me now) probably had a big part in the movement... and she dedicated herself to raise awareness & save lives in memory of her son.

 

[gypsy2621]

Quote:
I have to second what Saddina is saying.
back in 63 seat belts were not mandatory for children, neither was there a need to not let them ride sleeping in the back of a station wagon.
My Father was driving one night , us kids were sleeping in the "way back" as we called it, He tried avoiding a drunk driver by pulling into a driveway, the other driver followed right into the side of the wagon.
Now I was 6 years old at the time, I am now 51 and I have had to live with crippling pain all these years, disks destroyed ,massive headaches, and my hips falling off my spine from the damage that person caused.
Had that person not been so inebrated he would have never followed us up that drive way, he would have never have hit us, Now had seat belts been mandatory then, we kids would have been safely buckled in the back seat and likely not injured.

While I hate the fact that laws are shoved down our throats, I seriously believe in this law.
Booster seats yes I agree with them for children under a certain height and weight. ever see a 50 lb child pop out of a seat belt(lap belt only) when you hit a pot hole? I have, caught her just before she slammed into the dash ( pick up truck,.)
Seat belt was properly restrictive but yet she was still thrown out of it.
I hae seat belts, I am severely clausterphobic. yet when I gt into a vehicle the first thing anyone hears from me is CLICK !

 

[kezabel]

Ok In australia and the state NSW children are ment to be in a booster seat till they are 12. My son is six and rides in the car in one. Also he has a harness which is connected to the seat belt. When they get to big for the booster seat with a head rest you can put them in another type of booster seat which is just a seat that raises them up so the seat belt fits them propery and isn't cutting into their necks. I wouldn't let my child go in a car with out a booster seat. They are proven to help save lives so why would you risk not putting them in one.

I was recently at an accident scene (around the corner from my street) where 5 young people in a car hit a telegraph pole at about 70 km/h (about 35 miles an hour) 4 of them were not wearing seat belts and were killed (2 WERE THROWN FROM THE CAR), only one was wearing a seat belt in the back seat and he got out fine, no injuries but of course he was in shock.

Seat belts save lives and the Goverment wouldn't bother inforcing these laws if they didn't think it would help.