A nice mom wrote a piece for American Conservative.
She's on the right target range, but shooting at the wrong target.
...For America to become less “Family Unfriendly,” its transportation policies certainly do need to be reformed. What should be first on the list?
Cheaper minivans....
Yah, nope.
If Secretary Duffy really wants more kids/family, he will drastically revise the NHTSA standards and requirements for child seats. DRASTICALLY REVISE.
At this time, only the ultra-large Ford Transit vans supply seating capacity for more than 2 adults and 3-4 kids. Why?
Because "child safety seats" are ridiculously, insanely, wide. They are so wide that only two of them will fit into a three-passenger middle- or rear-seat on a conventional van. Further, one needs strength approaching that of Superman to get the damned things strapped into the car AND a lot of spare time to get the kids strapped into the seat.
Wasn't that way 40 years ago. The child safety-seats were bare-bones. You could strap them in without pulling a muscle; the kids were strapped in with just one buckle; they could be placed either front- or rear-facing, and they were narrow enough so that you could place three of them in a three-passenger seat.
While it is true that child mortality in auto accidents has decreased (raw numbers) since 1975, it is also true that there are less children; that is, the stats are not adjusted for the population. Even so, the 1990 safety-seat standards should be re-examined for validity.
"Cheaper mini-vans" are not the answer, unless parents will be purchasing TWO of them. That's not a solution.
2 comments:
Read a study last year that showed the number of kids lives saved by car seats is less than the number of kids not born because of car seat requirements.
The fireman who put my granddaughter's car seat in said most car seats are improperly installed.
Dad
Please post this photo of the good days before child safety seats
Greg
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b2/91/aa/b291aa0e324411bb8d69e494d6f105f8.jpg
Post a Comment