Is anyone else lax about small projectiles?

[mimieliza]

I am! Sippy cups, water bottles, books (like, picture books, not the dictionary) and toys don't worry me at all. Nor do Kleenex boxes, CD cases, a small ice scraper, or my small purse.

Not that Mythbusters is the be all and end all of scientific data, but they did a really good episode demonstrating that small objects are not dangerous projectiles. However, fire extinguishers, bowling balls and axes ARE dangerous projectiles. ;)

Stroller, groceries and the diaper bag go in the cargo area with the cover pulled over (station wagon).

[joolsplus3]

I tend to drag the clutter in after every drive (Everyone! Grab something when you get out!), but not because I'm a projectile stickler :cool: We have metal sippy cups and video games and ipods that could fly loose anytime :whistle:

[Mommyto2]

I don't like to have a lot of clutter in the car, it is just something that bothers me, so things tend to be inside the console or in the glove box. I let the kids have water cups (usually a funtainer or a sigg so not that light) and a bottle for myself. They don't usually need toys or anything in the car, so that hasn't been an issue, but they do have their leapsters if we are on a longer drive.

[ginny4]

oh my i'm TERRIBLE at keeping projectiles at bay. i got a gazillion things that can fly up & hit someone. i do keep all groceries in the trunk but still.....ugh i gotta get better at this.
are there any ideas....can i have say a box or bag squished in somewhere that can keep some stuff fairly easy to reach, keep it organized & not all over the car?

[Shaunam]

I'm lax. I do try to keep DD's equipment secure (which basically means I store it behind her seat and throw a pillow over top of it) but small projectiles I don't worry about.

I just had to go somewhere with my step-dad the other day and his truck is seriously scary. I gave him a brief lecture and then took the heavy, rusted, metal HOOK :eek: that was sitting on his dashboard and tossed it under the seat. He seemed to be grateful for the info. I don't expect him to completely get rid of projectiles but I did stress the importance of not having hooks and screwdrivers laying around. LOL

[amy919]

Yes, I am bad about it. Although, other than the Funtainers, the only projectiles are blankets, dolls and stuffed animals. I do have the stroller stored correctly though. But to be honest, it's more so that it doesn't get damaged :o. The volo I used to just throw in.

[HEVY]

I always have my bag and soda thermos. I also keep my grocery bags in the front or back seat. I did have my bowling ball there, but moved it when thought about that flying around.

[heathernick06]

I don't worry about small stuff like water bottles, purses, and books. When I have to go to class, I try to put my backpack with all my books under the backseat. I don't know if it would help if I got into a crash though.

I do have to occasionally remind my husband about big projectiles though. He seems to think that it's OK to leave steel-toe combat boots and Kevlar in the back with our son :rolleyes:.

[*Spoiledinmyhouseofblue*]

I am terrible at projectiles. I have an umbrella stroller not secured right now and my husband's bowling ball in my van in his bowling bag(that is coming out tomorrow though) and cups!

I need to get better at this stuff though. Usually though my van is not cluttered, but today it is so cluttered!

[Heather98012]

My car looks like chaos. It's all her stuff....paper projects from Sunday school, small, lightweight books (which I typically keep in the mesh bag on the back of the seat), a few stuffed toys, etc. Nothing too dangerous. And I let her have a sippy cup if she wants (but she usually puts it in her cupholder on her Frontier or hands it to me & I put it in the cupholder up front). And my bag is usually on the passenger seat.

[BW1426]

I don't really worry about the little things. Though, Kleenex boxes freak me out. There was a woman in the thumb area of MI that was in a crash and had an intusion to her head that required quite a few stitches. They found a chunk of her bloody scalp and hair on the corner of the tissue box. :eek:

[natysr]

What does this tell you?

http://alvin.smugmug.com/photos/247446199_WGyKF-M.jpg

But hey....I do not own a RF mirror. :p

[Auntie2Avi]

I am not crazy about them, but I try not to have really heavy stuff in the back. This is one thing I like about having a sedan, I try to put everything I have room for in the trunk.

[TXAggieTech]

We keep the axes and hammers in the trailer but we have only been home 5 days a month for the past 3 months. Most of the time we move places every 3-4 days. Our entire household is in our truck and trailer quite a bit of the time, so yeah, quite a few projectiles.

[Milkie&Cookie]

guilty! cd's, small toys, snack cups, sippee cups (usually metal:eek:) My stroller is in the way back and I string a bungee cord over it. Not sure if that would really help in a real crash tho. :o When we travel we've got everything in the minivan. There's really no way around it. I try to put all of the heavy or obvioulsly dangerous stuff behind the 3rd row or in the stow n go, but it doesn't all fit back there.

[cryswilkins]

I am bad about them, I just accumulate a lot of stuff since I drive so much, lol.

[Misty-Bug]

I am bad with it. I have a little container for Cooper with his cars in it. THen books are in the mesh pockets behind my seat. I can't use the pull over cover for my station wagon cause the top tether gets in the way. I usually don't have much in the car to be honest. But right now it is a PIG STY! I wonder if the kids will let me clean it out today.

[Patriot201]

No. I am perfect in every way. :whistle:














Just kidding! :p

I am fairly lax about certain projectiles. I do get worried when there are super-heavy items floating about, though.

[Unregistered]

Is anyone else worried about booster seats that are not attached when they are unoccupied?

[Mom2three]

I usually don't have much of anything in my car...I hate for it to be cluttered. I bring a diaper bag which I wedged down on the floor when I put it in the car. My DD doesn't really take toys in the car...hasn't expressed an interest yet. But she does occasionally have a sippy and sometimes her blanket. However I have ordered a cargo cover from Jeep for the back of my Liberty because it didn't have one, so now some of the bigger things in the back can be contained.

[bethng]

I am probably pretty bad about this. I clean out my van every friday as I HATE messy cars. But the kids have their backpacks, lunch boxes, nintendo ds, water bottles, the stroller is in the cargo area of my van as is my backup booster in case I need it for molly. Molly usually has a notebook and crayons to color with. I have a garbage can between the captions chairs for the kids garbage. Holly moly the mess that would be made if I didnt have that! I shudder to even think of it. My purse, usually a book to read while waiting to pick up kids from classes....yup.....projectile heaven in my van. :whistle:

[scatterbunny]

Is anyone else worried about booster seats that are not attached when they are unoccupied?

Yes. Unoccupied boosters are a great projectile risk; however, your booster manual will instruct you to buckle it up when not in use, to keep it from being a danger. There are a few boosters that can be LATCHed in, so those don't need to be buckled when not in use.

[Mom2One]

I'm awful about it. There are ALWAYS random sippy cups and toys in my car. DVD cases, diaper bag, shoes....

[ctbcleveland]

Wow OP - you are brave to post this.

It makes me feel so much better to know I am not the only one....I guess we all have room for improvement.

We are good about the big stuff, but my daily commute requires four bags - purse, briefcase, diaper bag, and DS's lunch bag, all of which happily ride with us, unsecured....no bowling bowls though :)

[crunchierthanthou]

I know this is a thread asking who is lax about projectiles, but I wanted to address a few points.

Remember that even in sedans, heavy items need to be secured. There was a case in the recent European rf study (http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=49789) where there was major intrusion into the passenger compartment by luggage in the trunk of a sedan. The child actually died. Although the luggage likely wasn't the sole cause, it was certainly a contributing factor. The same goes for storing items in the cargo area of any vehicle- heavy items need to be tied down. Simply putting them behind seats will not adequately restrain them.

Also, the pull over covers of most station wagons or suvs are insufficient. They may keep small items in the the cargo area, but generally, neither the clips that hold them in place or the hooks that keep them extended are designed to withstand crash forces. They are a privacy/security feature only. If you regularly carry heavy items or large pets, you should look into a crash-tested, bolt mounted cage style cargo barrier. The pressure mounted ones will not withstand crash forces.

All that being said, I'm not so great about securing groceries. :o I usually put the heaviest items on the floor under ds's MA or behind my seat, but I should probaby try to find a way to keep them tied down in the cargo area.