snowbird25ca
Moderator - CPST Instructor
We were out this evening, and I had a HUGE scare when I was driving...
I was going the speed limit - pretty much exactly the speed limit, maybe 1km over, and a driver decided to turn left directly in front of me. I anticipated that that's what was happening and slammed on the brakes. Our tires skidded, our anti-lock brakes kicked in big time, we went forward against our seat belts - everything seemed to move in slow motion... but I managed to stop in time. Thankfully the light turned yellow at the exact moment this all started, and we thankfully didn't end up getting rear ended ourselves probably from the other car starting to slow down at the same time...
I was practically in tears.. dd was scared - and ds laughed. Guess who was ff'ing and who was rf'ing - if you didn't already know my kids ages and see my siggy.
I don't think the driver who turned in front of us even realized we were coming. I still can't stop running through my head how if I'd braked even a half second later we would've t-boned that guy. Needless to say, it really shook me up. We're all fine, although I've got a sore wrist from gripping the steering wheel when the ABS kicked in.
I think we got away lucky... just feeling the force of going forward on the seatbelt from braking this hard and fast reminded me just how strong the force is when you go forward. And that no matter what you do, how much you follow the rules of the road and watch where you're going, sometimes other drivers do dumb things and you are physically unable to avoid a collision. Our truck is heavy and doesn't stop as fast as a car. I had a moment of thinking it was impossible for us to stop in time...
I know we all know this - heck, I know it and am anal about buckling the kids properly every single trip. But even for those of us who know it - reminders still make it all the more real about how important it is. The different reactions between the kids really also focused me in on how they each experienced it differently... ds was pressed against the back of his seat and probably didn't feel a whole lot, dd was pressed forward into her harness and I saw her head move forward slightly out of the corner of my eye. When we stopped, she had about 3 or 4" that her head was out from the seat... It's possible to say that forces like this - even without a collision, could seriously injure a child who is too young to face forward. But I'm betting there aren't any statistics on that.
Anyways, I don't have a real true point other than to say there is a huge difference, and for those who read and might not be truly convinced of the benefits of rf'ing, take this to heart. You don't have to be in a collision to experience the effects of ff'ing too early. My dd is 3, and this is how she experienced it... imagine a baby's or young toddler's neck.
I was going the speed limit - pretty much exactly the speed limit, maybe 1km over, and a driver decided to turn left directly in front of me. I anticipated that that's what was happening and slammed on the brakes. Our tires skidded, our anti-lock brakes kicked in big time, we went forward against our seat belts - everything seemed to move in slow motion... but I managed to stop in time. Thankfully the light turned yellow at the exact moment this all started, and we thankfully didn't end up getting rear ended ourselves probably from the other car starting to slow down at the same time...
I was practically in tears.. dd was scared - and ds laughed. Guess who was ff'ing and who was rf'ing - if you didn't already know my kids ages and see my siggy.
I don't think the driver who turned in front of us even realized we were coming. I still can't stop running through my head how if I'd braked even a half second later we would've t-boned that guy. Needless to say, it really shook me up. We're all fine, although I've got a sore wrist from gripping the steering wheel when the ABS kicked in.
I think we got away lucky... just feeling the force of going forward on the seatbelt from braking this hard and fast reminded me just how strong the force is when you go forward. And that no matter what you do, how much you follow the rules of the road and watch where you're going, sometimes other drivers do dumb things and you are physically unable to avoid a collision. Our truck is heavy and doesn't stop as fast as a car. I had a moment of thinking it was impossible for us to stop in time...
I know we all know this - heck, I know it and am anal about buckling the kids properly every single trip. But even for those of us who know it - reminders still make it all the more real about how important it is. The different reactions between the kids really also focused me in on how they each experienced it differently... ds was pressed against the back of his seat and probably didn't feel a whole lot, dd was pressed forward into her harness and I saw her head move forward slightly out of the corner of my eye. When we stopped, she had about 3 or 4" that her head was out from the seat... It's possible to say that forces like this - even without a collision, could seriously injure a child who is too young to face forward. But I'm betting there aren't any statistics on that.
Anyways, I don't have a real true point other than to say there is a huge difference, and for those who read and might not be truly convinced of the benefits of rf'ing, take this to heart. You don't have to be in a collision to experience the effects of ff'ing too early. My dd is 3, and this is how she experienced it... imagine a baby's or young toddler's neck.