Screw the nanny staters. Kids need to see the world from the front seat.
unsecured anythings in the car can cause severe injuries.
“But researchers have found that in a collision, especially a frontal one, unrestrained cargo flies forward with a force exponentially greater than its weight. At 55 mph, a 20-pound parcel exceeds 1,000 pounds of force. A can of peas or the family pet can cause serious injury or even death.”
The science background of this reporter is obviously weak. Exponentially greater than its weight?
Of course flying objects are more dangerous than stationary ones, but it sounds like the reporter jotted down some big words the researchers said then jumbled them together in the story.
Granted, none of those things were legislated requirements to have in a car to transport children, which does bump this up a bit, but seriously - anything at all that’s not locked into place can injure you in a car crash.
“A body at rest tends to remain at rest, or a body in motion tends to remain in motion at a constant speed in a straight line, unless acted on by an outside force.”
That’s the first of Newton’s three laws of motion. And I instinctively remember that particular law every time we start out in a car. Anything unsecured in the back seat could hurt one of us if we had to stop suddenly.
Most of the seats we used were hooked on from behind, so they stayed attached, although we did have to check from time to time that the straps hadn't loosened at all.
Now, those child killer airbags ... those I got a problem with!
It still is.
The children that grew up and ran insurance companies and carseat manufacturers, that is.
Me and my brothers usually sat in my mom’s lap and chewed on a toy painted with lead paint. She would hold us tight with her left hand while she smoked a Camel non-filter with the right hand.
That is, unless it was sunny outside. Then we would ride in the back of the pickup.
With so many things that researchers say can kill us nowadays its a miracle we are still alive.
A whole semester in “drivers education” in public high school.
Not a peep about securing items in the car so they wouldn’t be deadly
missles during a crash/deceleration.
The first time I really took the issue seriously was a couple of
years later when reading an article on the topic in one of the motoring
magazines (IIRC, “Motor Trend”).
Mr. Clark should sue the children! :-) How are you?
They don't print that on anvils either, but most would agree it's obvious.
If I had known it could have been a problem, I clearly would have suggested that maybe we want to take the seat out of the car," he said.
I feel for this guy, I really do. He's been in a terrible accident which unfortunately was exacerbated by his and his friends lack of common sense and attention. Problem is, behind him is standing some ambulance-chasing lawyer fishing for a lawsuit.
It isn't rocket science, and it isn't surprising, hidden, or the fault of the booster seat.
It is the fault of the dummy who left unsecured stuff in his car and the reporter who wrote the article mean to alarm rather than inform.
"Keep your car clean" is the lesson to walk away with, not "avoid booster seats".
Not the fault of the nanny state. The fault of the ninny who somehow didn’t realize that ANY unsecured object is dangerous.
A seatbelt can injure you, but I ALWAYS use mine.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus