Posted on 05/16/2006 9:04:54 AM PDT by COUNTrecount
LOS ANGELES - Oops ... the child-care-challenged Britney Spears has done it again. First Mommy Spears-est got nailed for driving with her baby son in her lap like a toy poodle. Now she could be busted for improperly installing a child safety seat in her car, state officials say.
The pregnant pop princess was spotted tooling around in her convertible Mini Cooper with 8-month-old Sean Preston slumped over in a forward-facing car seat. Federal regulations say kiddie seats should face backward until a child is a year old.
"It's far safer if the seat is facing backwards to avoid head-on injuries and whiplash in case of a collision," said California Highway Patrol spokesman Tom Marshall.
Spears, 24, "could be" cited for violating Section 27360 of the California Vehicle Code, which says child safety seats must be installed to comply with the federal standard.
"We would have to witness the violation. We can't issue a citation from a photograph," Marshall said.
"It's a bit of a gray area," he added, because state code doesn't specify the backward installation - a federal regulation does.
Spears' rep did not return calls for comment yesterday.
"We strongly urge anyone who is uncertain of how to install a car seat to come down to one of our headquarters and get help. We offer that service free of charge," said Marshall.
How about highchairs?
Spears, who recently confirmed she's expecting a second child, and hubby Kevin Federline rushed Sean to the hospital last month for a bumped noggin after he fell from a highchair that reportedly "snapped" and broke while a nanny was lifting him out. Child welfare officials investigated but cleared the couple of any wrongdoing.
In February, Spears got a visit and a warning from the cops after she was photographed driving illegally with her son in her lap. She admitted she "made a mistake" but blamed paparazzi for hounding her.
Ditz.
"Federal regulations say kiddie seats should face backward until a child is a year old."
1 year OR 20 lbs. If the baby weighs 21 pounds, he can face that way. An 8 month old probably doesn't weigh that much though, (although my first weighed over 20 at ~ 10 months).
The rear seat in a convertible is very windy. Who in their right mind would expose a baby to that? And you know she didn't put sunscreen on the baby.
That makes 2 of us.
What kind of carseat is that, that he is slumped over sleeping like that
It looks like a carseat for a 3-5 yr. old
The car seat in the picture is installed properly, but it's too big for the baby.
Stupid is as stupid does..........
I don't know. Ours was 9 pounds coming out, 13 at two months. She's going for her four-month checkup tomorrow and I expect she's 16-17 pounds. She'll probably break 20 before 8 months, and then it's time for a new car seat. She's a big healthy happy (mostly!) girl.
}:-)4
Tell me about it. I used to ride the armrest in the front seat. I would crack up laughing when I got flung in to the backseat at a hard stop.
It's legal to kill 'em but don't you dare have them facing forward in their car seats!!
Pathetic.
2b,
So very true.
When I was a tiny young stud (3, 4) I sometimes travelled laying across the front benchseat with my head in mommy's lap.
A little older, I rode with my back against the passenger door, facing my mother. Til the door gave one day and I landed in the road on my back. Not long after I took the dashboard taste test in a little fender bender.
Through it all seat belt use was unknown.
Yeah, mine is 8 months in 2 more weeks- judging by how my arms feel at the end of the day, he broke 20lbs since his last check-up.
But damn they don't give those seats away.
Ms. Spears certainly doesn't sound like Mother-of-the-Year material, but I'm more outraged by all this nanny-state intrusion than by anything Britney's done.
LOL...yep, same here, I rememeber a few trips in the back of the pick-up too as a kid. I suppose I should be long dead by now
Yes, you are correct. Bugs must be bouncing off the kids head too.......not to mention stuff getting in the kids eyes.....
Or, of course, sleeping in the back of the station wagon.
When I was 3, I was in a terrible car accident and flew through the front windshield, because I was not strapped in and was sitting on a lady's lap in the front seat (no seat belt for her either).
I almost was killed, but luckily a nurse was the first on the scene and started picking all the glass out of my face and giving me care. I can still remember them cutting my favorite turtle neck shirt off because of the glass on my face and I remember screaming for my mommy and daddy.
But still, if there's protection for your children, there's a reason for it and a good parent would us it, as directed.
Brittany is not a very good parent, imo.
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