SB failure during accident...help me understand, please.

luckyclov

luckyclov

New member
Let me start off by saying that I am *well aware* that SB failure is extremely rare. That's not entirely the subject of my question, but I wasn't sure what else to title the thread.

Anyways.

I'm sure we're all familiar with the tragic story of Kyle David Miller. It was actually that video that closed my decision on sending my DD from a Marathon to a Regent. Harnessing beyond 4/40 has benefits, sure, we all know that.

Say, though, we've got a 50-lb child in a harnessed car seat - obviously the car seat is SB installed. If there was an accident, and the SB failed, aren't we, technically, in a similar situation as a child in a booster, whose SB fails? Or does it make a difference having the child attached to a restraint that's (hopefully) TT'ed?

Help me understand...?:confused:
 
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amyd

amyd

New member
Yes, that would likely be a very similar situation, I think. Top tethers are designed to reduce head excursion, not keep seats that are otherwise not properly installed or that experience sb failure inside the vehicle. If the seatbelt on a top tethered seat failed, the top tether may fail as well due to extreme force that they are not designed to bear or if it didn't fail the result would be a 70ish lb projectile flying around the vehicle. The KDM story is very sad, and while 3 year olds do not belong in boosters, a harnessed seat isn't necessarily any safer if the sb fails.
 
wendytthomas

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
The top tether will fail. What helps the child is the fact that they're strapped to something that is keeping their spine immobilized, and may keep them in the car.

What sucks for us is that that means it's the weight of the child plus the child's carseat bouncing around inside the car.

The belt can also get caught up in the belt path and not complete eject the child.

And of course, since the chances of it happening are close to nil, it's not a huge concern. I'd rather see that 50 pound child in a booster than misusing LATCH or in a seat they've outgrown. But in a Regent with the seatbelt and properly installed (or any seat that accommodates that weight safely), it's fine.

Wendy
 
M

mydogteaser

New member
I would think that if the SB failed, wouldn't being harnessed would be better than a booster simply because the harness would be holding the child in? The car seat would go flying, but the child would still be held in by the harness. Therefore, the child could not be ejected, hit the dash/windshield, etc.
 
amyd

amyd

New member
mydogteaser said:
I would think that if the SB failed, wouldn't being harnessed would be better than a booster simply because the harness would be holding the child in? The car seat would go flying, but the child would still be held in by the harness. Therefore, the child could not be ejected, hit the dash/windshield, etc.
Click to expand...

The whole carseat with child strapped in could be ejected or if it stayed in the vehicle it could seriously injure or kill the other passengers. The child probably would fare better if ejected strapped into a seat because as Wendy said, they would have hard shell behind then possibly helping to protect their neck, spine and head.
 
wvmommy007

wvmommy007

New member
A few years ago there was a crash in my neighborhood where a baby was ejected from the car in his car seat. Both his parents were killed but he survived. He has some mental issues now but is lucky to be alive. I don't know the specifics of the crash but I recall hearing that the seat belt or the car seat failed. There was rumor of a lawsuit, against whom, I do not know. Anyway, clearly, the car seat saved him. He was considered a miracle at the time and the busy, dangerous instersection now has a traffic light.
 
M

Maedze

New member
Frankly, I'm more worried about my car being attacked by a swarm of Africanized bees. (Hey, it could happen!)

Conjecturing about this really isn't useful in the sense that it's going to change anything. Seatbelt failure is, for all intents and purposes, NOT a concern. Make sure your seat is installed correctly, 100% of the time, and you're going to be just fine.
 
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