Parents PLEASE read this!

[outofit 0]

i hate to bring such a depressing issue before such a spirited and lively crowd but it is one which is often times overlooked. tonight i had the unfortunate occasion of working a hit and run collision where a 2 year old child was killed as a result off a parent taking the child out of her safety seat in the back and placing her in her lap in the passenger seat in the front of the vehicle. the vehicle was struck head on and the air bags deployed striking the child who was in the mothers lap directly in the face. the child's head then struck the mother in the face causing pretty severe trauma to the mother as well. this child would have survived a relatively minor collision had the parent not made an error in judgement. so, my point is please keep your children out of harms way and in the back in their child seat where they belong because as this incident illustrates an airbag can be deadly to a child. btw. this little girl would have been three the sixteenth of this month.

It is better to be dead and cool than alive and uncool!

[quatorze 1]

My condolensces to the family, and my prayers for the child.

Now for the rant

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parent taking the child out of her safety seat in the back and placing her in her lap

I may be an Ex emergency professional but I still have storng feelings about this exact same issue, and I am sure that the rest of us who are on here and have worked such horrific scenes will be chiming in shortly. Thank God that some states are taking a zero tolerance stance to that issue, personal freedoms aside, sure adults should not be forced to wear helmets on motocycles, but at what point in time does an infant/toddler have the cognitive power to decide their own fate. ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!! things like this frustrate me to no end, I feel pain for the loss of the parents but that is coupled with extreme rage, for someone to be blessed with the gift of a child and to so carelessly endager that gift and then lose it. Please excuse me in the typing of this post mty hands are trembleing too much anger to be perfect. This is why I had to get out of the p[rofession, my tolerance for ignorant/careless people who endanger the lives of innocents is gone, none, nada.

Edit, to add that if anyone tries to play devils advocate, think about whose resposiblity it is, and no money to afford a child seat is not a valid reason either, most if not all states in the US have programs for high risk children (ie low income, druggie moms et al) that will give, not at a discount but [bh]GIVE the family a child safety seat...yup, still angry

I'm not afriad of dying, I'm afraid of never really living- Erin Engle

[outofit 0]

well said. it irritates me when i here people say, "he won't stay in his seat." that my friends is a lame excuse at best. it is not the child's responsibility to ensure that he or she is safe but that of the parent, and i for one do not take this issue lightly when dealing with people who ignore this gravely important issue.

It is better to be dead and cool than alive and uncool!

[nacmacfeegle 0]

Annoys me intensely, as a parent of a young child, every car seat I've seen warns people about the hazards of putting kids anywhere near airbags....

If kids aren't restrained in teh back seat, they will be ejected through the front windshield in the event of a shunt, even at relatively low speeds.
In the UK its law that kids are restrained, and the cops actually pull people over if they see them breaking this law.

Safe is cool

--------------------

He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. Thomas Jefferson

[quatorze 1]

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In the UK its law that kids are restrained, and the cops actually pull people over if they see them breaking this law

GOOD!!!

As I said, I think that consenting adults should legally be able to take their life in there hands if they so choose (ie helmet laws, bungee, BASE, skydiving) but laws should protect people who cannot protect themselves (infants/toddlesr) Good for the Bobbies, take them to jail, do not pass go do not collect 200 dollars, pounds, bok, yen etc, learn that children are precious and a gift and treat them that way.... yup, still miffed, maybe I should not read this thread anymore, blood pressure rising and all

I'm not afriad of dying, I'm afraid of never really living- Erin Engle

[helicam 0]

I am 100% in agreement!

I come from both a police and EMS background and have attended far too many scenes where kids have been on the parent's lap while they are driving, running around the car and even been left to sleep on the rear parcel shelf!

What burns me is that when we used to pull people over and warn them, they used ti get very aggressive and used to tell us that they will decide what is best for their child. An old cop I used to work with used to hand these people the business card from an undertaker with the advice that they will need it soon.

That being said....blue skies all!!

I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter

[bluefingers 0]

I've seen people allowing their toddlers to STAND on the front seat, hands on the dashboard, noses practically touching the windscreen, with an empty babyseat in the back. I usually make my opinion known, and the usual response is a dirty look or a zap sign. Some people aren't fit to be parents imho

Kerry

[skydiverbrian 0]

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and I am sure that the rest of us who are on here and have worked such horrific scenes will be chiming in shortly.

Here's me chiming in....

There's a silver lining to this dark cloud! Kids love ambulances (and cruisers and fire engines)! Last week, I pulled alongside a car at a stoplight and all the kids started jumping around and making the "horn gesture" with their hands. I blew the horn, then rolled the window down to say hello. A little small talk, then the big question - where are your seatbelts?! Everyone sat right down and the older kids buckled in the youngest. Mom gave an embarassed smile and wave and drove slowly away.

In a world full of people, only some want to fly... isn't that crazy! --Seal

[quatorze 1]

Brian, thanks

I'm not afriad of dying, I'm afraid of never really living- Erin Engle

[skymama 37]

Oh that always makes me so mad to see children out of a car seat. Just the other day, I heard 2 women talking about the boy they had with them. One of them said, "where is he going to ride, the car seat is all wet." The other one said, "we can't put him in the seat, I'll put him up here with me." This was at my apartment building. They very easily could have sat him in the seat and stuck a towel on it, and brought a change of clothes for him. But, I guess it was better to risk his life than to let him have wet pants. In hindsight, I wish I would have said something to them, but you just never know what people's reactions are going to be these days.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[mouth 0]

Thankfully both of my girls are older now, but I still remember my youngest child arching her back and kicking trying not to be put in the car seat. Her legs wound up with a good popping on more than one occasion before I finally made a believer out of her at 2. She is now 8 and is always the first one to have her seatbelt clicked. She won't hesitate to remind you to click yours either.

I firmly believe you must teach a child to obey and I believe that should start at a young age. Parents are responsibly for the child's safety and when they blatantly do things that could cause harm to that child I think they should face the consequences.

To the child....may you ever soar on wings like an eagle.

--
Hot Mama
At least you know where you stand even if it is in a pile of shit.

[skreamer 1]

They also have a very good, very graphic ad in the UK along these lines. A mother pulls off with her kids in the car, son sitting in the back seat. The voice-over then says 'Mrs. Jones knew her killer....'. An ominous looking white van then pulls out behind her, but then turns down a side street. She then sees something in front of her and slams on the brakes. Her son (the killer she knew) goes flying into the back of her head. She gets her head smashed and the son falls back in his seat with a smashed face. The ad is really graphic, I was surprized but also impressed that they show it on national TV.

Of course in the UK, they also show interviews with smokers wheezing with emphysema, then end with 'Joe Bloggs died of lung cancer/emphysema X weeks after this interview'. These are real people who want to warn others about what is happening to them (slow painful death by asphyxiation as they cough up bits of their own lungs).

Yep, (lack of) seat-belts and smoking - two of my pet peeves..

Will

[RevJim 0]

I am in complete agreement on this issue!

I have one thing to add, off on a little tangent.

Child Safety Seats:

My wife was in a minor, and i do mean minor accident while she was pregnant with my second daughter. She was driving, with her mother in the passenger seat, of a tiny Plymouth Colt. My daughter was at home with me, but her carseat was in the car. My wife was hit in the drivers door, bashing it in quite a bit, and blowing out the rear side window. The window was "fixed" (plexiglass and duct tape held 'till we got a new car, some 1.5 years later), and the glass cleaned out of the car, and out of the car seat.

We continued to use the seat, not even thinking about damage that could have been caused in such a minor accident.

Well, one day I was taking the seat out, to put in my truck for a day, and felt something not quite right. Upon closer inspection, I found a hairline crack around the seatbelt attachment point. There is no way this would have held, had we been in an accident, and Kortney been in that seat. It may have slowed her down, but it would not have stopped her.

People, there is a label on car seats. It say to discontinue use if it is ever in an accident.

If a car seat is in an accident, GET RID OF IT! I don't care if the child was in it or not, or how minor the accident was, JUST GET RID OF IT!

I almost learned the hard way, but I learned. I hauled out my Milwaukee Sawzall, and made sure NOBODY would be able to use that seat again.

It's your life, live it!
Karma
RB#684 "Corcho", ASK#60, Muff#3520, NCB#398, NHDZ#4, C-33989, DG#1

[DZBone 0]

Another ex-EMS person chiming in.

People can be so naive about the real dangers around them. Maybe those of us in the business are overly cynical, being exposed to the rare but awful truth on a regular basis, but I totally understand the rage.

On the other hand, I knew some real cornholers who were volunteers for years, and had seen it all, but wouldn't wear seat belts because once they saw someone killed because they were wearing one. Sheesh! What about the dozens you saw who survived! Humans tend to focus on the exceptions, despite logic. I could go on forever, I won't.

Civilians are even worse. They assume because nothing bad has ever happened to them or anyone they know, that nothing will. They have no real idea of the physics involved.

If I were less of a civil libertarian, I would insist that everyone be required to do a month of voluntary service in an EMS unit in a busy district. I would also require them to hold a realistically-weighted doll in their arms in one of those slide collision things the police bring to the malls. Show them that they can't hold a baby in a collision, no matter how strong they think they are.

/rant off

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If you hadn't read this, would it have made a sound?

[skygirlpc 0]

Being that I take care of children, this is an issue I see all the time. I can't stand to hear "They won't sit in the car seat" ! So, you would rather have a dead child then an upset one? From my experience if you never let them out of the car seat they don't know to throw a fit over sitting in it. I take children in my car that don't sit in car seats with there parents yet they don't think twice about sitting in one in my car. They know that they can either sit in it or we won't go anywhere.

Another thing that I see happen a lot is parents letting there kids out of carseats before they are big enough. The "rules" have changed a lot in the past years concerning size and need for car seats. Please read your car seats instruction book and follow the size recomendations!

Here our highway patrol regularly has carseat checkpoints where you go and let them check your carseat and how it is put in your car. If anything is wrong with your carseat they give you one and they buckle it in for you. I think these checks are a very worthwile thing for anybody that drives with kids in their car!

Danielle

[bobsled92 0]

Some people say "I don't want the baby to cry" is selfish & means "I want the noise to stop".
It means they are still safe and alive!
My sister thinks that driving a conversion van means they can play in the back
(...3 chilrden & 3 niece & nephews, all still living)

_______________________________
If I could be a Super Hero,
I chose to be: "GRANT-A-CLAUS". and work 365 days a Year.
http://www.hangout.no/speednews/

[phatcat 0]

My mom used to do that when I was little (maybe 4 or 5). Didn't know better, I guess. One night we were driving home and I was sleeping on her lap in the passenger seat. My dad was sleeping too, unfortunatly he was in the drivers seat. At the time I didn't know how lucky we were that none of us got killed after we went flying into a field. I remember being pretty shaken up that night but I guess when you're that young you get over stuff pretty quick. If I ever have kids I certainly won't make that mistake.

outofit - It's a real bummer you had to see that shit. Hopefully other people will get a clue. Take care.

[Zenister 0]

while i completely agree that child restraints should be mandatory (they are minors)

[rant on] we need to get rid of compulsory seat belt laws for adults.

i will firmly defend my right to be a human projectile in an accident as much as i will defend your right to be 'jetsonable cargo'. Its my life, i will risk it in any fashion i choose. Skydiving, helmets, rock climbing, or seat belts.

the govt needs to back the F#%k up out of my life.. [/rant off]

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[DZBone 0]

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we need to get rid of compulsory seat belt laws for adults.

Add motorcycle helmets to that list.

No gay marriage, but heaven forbid we drive around without safety equipment.

When I was 15, I wrote a ranting letter to the editor of my local paper (kids couldn't get on the Internet then...) about the requirement for safety shut-offs on lawnmowers. When you're that age, you will go off on just about anything, I think. Anyway, my favorite line (and it got printed!): "If people want a traumatic amputation, they are going to find a way to get it, one way or another."

Friggin' smart-ass kids.

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If you hadn't read this, would it have made a sound?