LM4M
CPST Instructor
just don't know where I should put this. Move if necessary.
Today was my pre-schoolers first day of school. I wanted to make it a fun day (and hopefully eliminate any tears or fear) and we went to McDonalds for lunch right before school started (11:30).
We were in the drive through when I asked my daughter, 7 years old, to unbuckle and come to the front of the car to hand the drinks to the other two kids who were still strapped in their seats. She was passing things out, and I began to slowly let my foot off the brake and roll forward out of the way of the cars behind us, so she could get strapped back in.
While slowly rolling forward, a worker ran out the side door and startled me. I hit the brakes, and my daughter who was standing up facing the rear of the car, flew forward into the console of the car hitting her head of the TV and landing between the two front seats. It was enough for her to say that she hurt, and it scared her quite a bit. She moved forward at least 2 feet.
I can say with absolute certainty that I was going 2-3 MPH at the most. We were literally CREEPING along. I could easily walk faster than the car was moving.
This is a lesson learned for us. Even when rolling very slowly in the parking lot, everyone stays buckled. How many times have you slowly rolled out of a parking spot while your kids buckled? how many times have your kids started to unbuckle before putting the car in park. Even if they are unbuckled for 10 seconds, 5 seconds, even 2 SECONDS... the damage can be severe.
If this can happen going 2 MPH and for only ten second of time... what happens when it's "Only" something else? "Only going down the street" or "Only going around the corner" or "Only driving on a 25 MPH street" is not an excuse not to properly restrain your children.
Today, we were going 2 MPH, and we were lucky to learn the lesson that what you think is totally safe and a non-issue can really be something that can hurt a child. Don't overlook something this simple. Pull over. Put the car in park, then deal with it. It's not worth risking an injury over. You never know when something will cause you to hit the brakes and send your child falling to the floor.
That's my PSA for the day. :thumbsup:
Today was my pre-schoolers first day of school. I wanted to make it a fun day (and hopefully eliminate any tears or fear) and we went to McDonalds for lunch right before school started (11:30).
We were in the drive through when I asked my daughter, 7 years old, to unbuckle and come to the front of the car to hand the drinks to the other two kids who were still strapped in their seats. She was passing things out, and I began to slowly let my foot off the brake and roll forward out of the way of the cars behind us, so she could get strapped back in.
While slowly rolling forward, a worker ran out the side door and startled me. I hit the brakes, and my daughter who was standing up facing the rear of the car, flew forward into the console of the car hitting her head of the TV and landing between the two front seats. It was enough for her to say that she hurt, and it scared her quite a bit. She moved forward at least 2 feet.
I can say with absolute certainty that I was going 2-3 MPH at the most. We were literally CREEPING along. I could easily walk faster than the car was moving.
This is a lesson learned for us. Even when rolling very slowly in the parking lot, everyone stays buckled. How many times have you slowly rolled out of a parking spot while your kids buckled? how many times have your kids started to unbuckle before putting the car in park. Even if they are unbuckled for 10 seconds, 5 seconds, even 2 SECONDS... the damage can be severe.
If this can happen going 2 MPH and for only ten second of time... what happens when it's "Only" something else? "Only going down the street" or "Only going around the corner" or "Only driving on a 25 MPH street" is not an excuse not to properly restrain your children.
Today, we were going 2 MPH, and we were lucky to learn the lesson that what you think is totally safe and a non-issue can really be something that can hurt a child. Don't overlook something this simple. Pull over. Put the car in park, then deal with it. It's not worth risking an injury over. You never know when something will cause you to hit the brakes and send your child falling to the floor.
That's my PSA for the day. :thumbsup: