School field trip rant and 3 across booster question

theannex2

New member
I don't know why I'm surprised at this type of thing anymore, but I had to share my experience with my 1st grade daughter's class field trip today. The one today was a doozy. I wasn't there when they left school, but apparently they were short one driver so one child (the 7 year old daughter of one driver) ended up riding in the front seat. The teacher assures me they only ever resort to this in exceptional situations, and they would never do it without parental consent, yadda, yadda. Was the airbag even disabled? Who knows. Stupid, unsafe, but not illegal in MI. One of the reasons I will always drive on field trips, or make my daughter miss them.

What I also noticed, however, as they returned to school, was that the one of the kids in the rear middle seat of the same car wasn't even boostered. It was a small sedan, so I always do a double-take when I see 3 K/First graders sitting in back of those. The kids all had boosters originally, but I am wondering if the parent must have given up fitting them all in, and stuck one in the trunk. Two of the boosters looked like huge plastic Evenflo or Cosco harness/booster combo seats. I'm not good at id-ing those, but they looked bulky. The third kid was carrying a LBB.

So my question is: There's no way, right, that one could fit a LBB between those 2 types of HBB in a small sedan? I would like to believe I just didn't see the LBB the middle kid was sitting on, since I was distracted with my toddler at the time. But I also want the school to do something about this kind of bad judgment (breaking MI's booster laws never mind putting 5-7 year olds in front seats!), and it's hard for me to do so without feeling more sure of what I saw. I don't know the make/model of the car, but it was not as large as Taurus or Impala. I would be LIVID though if that were my child, and I sent him with a booster, and it wasn't used because the school didn't have enough space/drivers.

Thoughts or advice?
 
ADS

Qarin

New member
Is it possible the middle rear seat did not have a shoulder belt, so a booster couldn't be used there? (and, presumably, MI law would exempt a 40+lb child from requiring a booster in that position- for good or ill, the law can't really say "nobody can sit in a lap-belt-only position," nor should it require a booster be used in such a position since boosters require shoulder belt).
 

steph_s

New member
This is why I will always drive or a family member will always drive for school field trips. My son's preschool field trip required me to install all the car seats that the parents left because no one who worked at the preschool knew how to do it properly. Nevermind that I had to swap harness heights for some kids, tighten straps, and show the parents who were driving how to install their own seats correctly. It went fairly quickly because I am fairly good at eyeballing a car's back seat and picking out what combo of seats will work 3 across, but still it's frustrating!

If someone put my child in a car without a booster seat I would sue! No accident or not they need to know it's not acceptable nor safe and need to feel the consequences of their actions! I wouldn't want money, I wouldn't want a fine, I would want them to go thru the legal battle simply so they know how serious it is!
 

safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
Nor is it absolutely necessary for a properly restrained older kid (i.e., harnessed or boostered).

To add to this, a properly seated ffing child in a properly installed seat is at no more risk of injury from the airbag than an adult. Airbags can cause injuries to anyone of any age, however, the injuries seen from airbags are much less severe than the injuries seen with no airbags. Unfortunately, the majority of the population doesn't restrain their children properly in any seating position, therefore the airbag is more likely to injure them.

I'm also the mom that would be the one volunteering to let my child go in the front seat so that another child can have a safe position on a field trip. MY KIDS are properly restrained and know not to lean forward toward the airbag, most other kids aren't.

Most vehicles do not have the option to turn off the airbag. Many cars have weight sensors and the airbag shuts off if a small child is in the front seat though.
 

scoutingbear

New member
I would be much more upset about kids not being properly restrained in any position than a child (especially the driver's child) being properly restrained in the front seat. Once a week A HAS to ride in the front seat of the babysitter's truck (sidefacing jump seats in back). She knows how to make sure he is properly restrained and he knows to stay in his seat.
 

Lys

Senior Community Member
What kind of school is this?
At my son's school, no one is allowed to transport kids for a field trip. They are required to ride in the school busses.
 

safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
I didn't think this was true for kids, though. This was the study I forwarded to my daughter's teacher:

http://healthlibrary.epnet.com/GetC...1e-add7-403a-b817-b3efe6109265&chunkiid=94084

Has there been other research done disproving this?

That study shows that there is a clear difference in the outcome of air bag deployment once puberty has been reached. Seeing as how most children do not fit properly until puberty anyway, and the study does not take into account proper restraint use.

This is a brochure from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety.

www.iihs.org/brochures/pdf/kids_airbags.pdf
 
What kind of school is this?
At my son's school, no one is allowed to transport kids for a field trip. They are required to ride in the school busses.
I know of many public school districts around here (including our own district) where field trip transportation is done by parent volunteers (with some standard forms requiring that they provide proof of adequate insurance, etc.), probably b/c of district budgets not having the $ for buses.
 

LM4M

CPST Instructor
Just so you know, in most cars, a front-seat airbag cannot be disabled.

My car has some sort of sensor that I *think* you have to be 70 or 80 lbs for the airbag to remain on. If anyone under that weight limit is in the seat, a bell chimes and then says "pass airbag disabled".
 

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