Priorities and common sense

[BookstoreEscapee]

My ex bf claimed he and his ex never had a carseat for their daughter because they "couldn't afford it". Hmmm.....maybe should have thought of that before you went without a condom, hmmm?

That's bullsh*t. As someone else pointed out, there are programs to help you get safety seats. You can also often go to the police department and have it checked to make sure it's installed properly.

I know I had a baby seat; didn't have the booster seat that older kids are often required to be in these days, but I always was buckled in. I remember my neighbors' youngest daughter, once she had outgrown her toddler seat, never being buckled in and allowed to climb all over the backseat and lean in between the front seats. Somehow she's made it to age 20 but she's not the best driver...

[flicksgirl]

I Dont know where your located but here in Ontario Canada its against the law to not have a child in a car seat and that doesnt just include babies but any child under10 years old and i beleive 50lbs or 4 ft. not sure about height and weight stats. I would call the cops ASAP on this one.
I hate stupid people! You need a license to drive and own a dog but any idiot can breed unfortunatly.

[simplyanother]

I'm a car-seat and child passenger safety fanatic. It makes me ill to see children who not properly restrained in a car.

I'm pretty sure that the situation described in the OP is actually illegal all over the US, Canada and the UK.

I saw a car drive up to a fast food place I was in--today. A woman in the passenger seat, holding a newborn on her shoulder. There are exclusions for car-seats in many places..if your car was built before a certain year, that sort of thing, but this car was a late '90's car.

I also saw a man driving around a parking lot holding a newborn.

If either of them hit someone, even at low speeds the body of the adult would impact the baby, who'd hit the dash. The baby would almost certainly be killed.


Different US states have different laws. In some states, you are required to keep your child rear-facing until they are both 1 and 20 lbs (that is the absolute minimum anyone should turn their kid).

At least one state only requires a safety restraint until the child is 36 inches tall. That's about a three year old. A three year old is in no way able to fit an adult seat belt properly.

Other states use ages to have the cut off, 4, 6 and 8 are popular.

And the states that I like are the ones that have a height cutoff.


People don't like to listen when you tell them that they are misusing their car-seats. I told a customer ONCE that their carseat had something on it that was not allowed. They reacted well, but I haven't tempted fate again, because I know the next will go off on me and STILL use the carseat incorrectly.

[chainedbarista]

they own two cellphones, are getting speakers installed, but a carseat never crossed their minds; i'm hoping that the cops and cps come down on their asses.

breeding doesn't require a brain after all, just look at the cockroach...

[captainvegetable02]

There's no such thing in the US as "can't afford a car seat." In most places it's a simple as going to a police station and telling them you need one. A number of hospitals also give them out, and there are plenty of other organizations that would be happy to provide one as well. When I worked as a bank teller I was always amazed at the number of people who came through the drive-through with unrestrained children. I don't know if people are unaware of how to obtain one, or are too embarassed to ask - which I still don't see as an excuse. You pride is NOT more important than your child's safety.

[protege]

I, to this day, cannot get in a car without automatically putting on my seat belt.

I do that too. I've always put my seat belt on. Growing up, I was always told to do that. It was reinforced by my father *not* wearing his...and getting messed up in a 1993 accident. Some dumbass in a 1970s Pontiac hit him as he was pulling out of a parallel space, tossing the car roughly 40 feet. When it came to rest, several witnesses saw his neck fly back, and thought he was dead He's damn lucky all he got out of it was some cuts/scratches and a concussion. He could have *easily* been ejected!

Roughly a year later, I was in an accident in the same car. My engine blew up, and I was getting out to push the car off the road. I'd just taken my belt off, and was reaching for the door...when someone hit me from behind I got some bruises, bashed my face off the steering wheel, etc. But it could have been *much* worse!

Same year, my grandmother and cousin were in a *serious* accident. Getting hit head-on by a semi, she's lucky to be alive. Had she not had her belt on, she'd be dead. She still had serious injuries though.

I still can't believe that people will refuse to use the proper safety equipment...and then have the nerve to bitch when they get hurt. I don't care if a seatbelt is "uncomfortable." Would you rather be seriously injured? An airbag is not a substitute--in side collisions, it's worthless. It's also impossible to "catch" yourself from hitting the dashboard--if you try, the force alone would shatter your arms!

[CRXPanda]

Nek-logic

Hell yeah. At that age a baby needs to be in a rear facing seat (their neck muscles don't have the strength needed to be forward facing in case of an accident).

I agree that no child seat = no child in an accident...

but in nek-logic lore, this is how it goes:

"don't have an accident and your kid won't get hurt."

Seriously people...this is how they think!!!

[Kara]

My parents didn't use carseats after we were about 3. We never buckled up when we were little. I remember laying across the backseat and sleeping on long car trips. I used to love riding in the back of my dad's pickup. Thankfully we were never in a wreck or we would have been horribly killed. It's not that they didn't care, it was just that back in the early 80's Smalltown, USA, that's just how it was. When we moved to a larger city where they would ticket you for that, we started buckling routinely. Now I never go without one.

[Tria]

I still can't believe that people will refuse to use the proper safety equipment...and then have the nerve to bitch when they get hurt. I don't care if a seatbelt is "uncomfortable."

I agree, I always wear a seatbelt.... However as someone who's only 5'3" is do understand the uncomfortabel aspect of it. The shoulder strap cuts into my throat

[greensinestro]

So, they had $100 or more to spend on stereo speakers, but wouldn't spend this on a decent car seat? I don't call these people parents at all. I have twins, a boy and a girl, and my wife and I invested whatever amount of money was necessary for seats they needed to sit in while they traveled with us.

This is kind of like the couples living on welfare, have a child or two that are always in tattered clothing or diapers, don't drink or eat enough food, yet these couples can always afford to smoke and drink beer. It despicable!

[greensinestro]

Don't act too surprised, there are still morons out there toting their little ones around without a carseat.

Got that right. I went up near Lake City a couple of years back to go innertubing down the Ichetucknee River. They have a shuttle bus that will take you to the starting point, and this couple with their two year old was there. The driver told them they would have to put the child in the child seat provided before the bus started to move. This couple was dumbfounded, and actually said, "A child seat? What's that?" We all knew at once this was a couple who never put their child in a child seat of any kind and had most likely driven there that way. So, we had to waste five long minutes showing this couple how to use one, then put their child in that seat.

[Luna]

I'm 4' 11". The seatbelt hurts me too - especially in warmer months when it's rubbing on my neck instead of where it should. But I like being alove. I promised my long ago best friend when wew ere in middle school that i'd always wear my seat belt. I've never broken that promise and I'm 31 now. I actually can't drive without it b/c it's such a part of me.

As far as parents in the OP, am I the only one thinking and hoping they aren't going to have the baby in the car as they're blasting their newly installed speakers?

[myswtghst]

"don't have an accident and your kid won't get hurt."

And it would be so lovely if the world worked that way. Every accident I've had/my car has been in has occurred because someone else hit it while I was driving normally or parked.

BTW, Luna, I'm with you in hoping that they don't use those brand new speakers to abuse their little one's poor developing ears.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

BTW, Luna, I'm with you in hoping that they don't use those brand new speakers to abuse their little one's poor developing ears.

I was wondering the same thing. My goodness, that poor child having to listen to that THUMP DA de THUMP for years is going to ruin its hearing. He (or she) will probably need double hearing aids by the time he (she) reaches 30.

[MadMike]

I do that too. I've always put my seat belt on. Growing up, I was always told to do that. It was reinforced by my father *not* wearing his...and getting messed up in a 1993 accident. Some dumbass in a 1970s Pontiac hit him as he was pulling out of a parallel space, tossing the car roughly 40 feet. When it came to rest, several witnesses saw his neck fly back, and thought he was dead He's damn lucky all he got out of it was some cuts/scratches and a concussion. He could have *easily* been ejected!

A buddy of mine, who did not believe in seat belts, did get ejected. There were four of us in a jeep, with the top off. We were on our way back from a concert when it started raining lightly (which sucked with the top being off), and then we hit a slippery stretch of road, started sliding, and slammed repeatedly into a guard rail. The other three of us were fine, since we had our seatbelts on, but my buddy got thrown out of the jeep and onto the road. I took off running until I found a pay phone (this was before cell phones were common, so none of us had one), and got an ambulance out there.

Thankfully, he came out of it with nothing more than a concussion, and some scrapes and bruises.