D&L's-mommy
New member
rather than continue to hijack Baylor's "after the side impact test videos..." I started a new thread
My question is about whether to continue to harness my DD (4.5y 43" 40lbs). My concern is about neck load. The quote is from Baylor's thread...
that helps me understand why a seat belt *may* be safer after a certain weight/age/size. Do we know what size that occurs at? I guess it depends on the exact circumstance of the crash? Perhaps for one type of crash a seat belt may be *safer*, another type of crash a harness *may* be safer? I'm so torn about whether my 4.5 YO is best in a HBB (that fits great) or harness. At what size is child *equally* safe in either, and at what point is the belt *safer* ?All the crash tests seem so circumstantial to me,how well do they translate to real life?
My question is about whether to continue to harness my DD (4.5y 43" 40lbs). My concern is about neck load. The quote is from Baylor's thread...
Neck loading is referring to the amount of stress on the spine. Generalizing it - in a harnessed seat the entire torso is held back, therefore the only part of the body that can fly forward is the head, that means all the stress of the head moving is on the neck. In a booster with the seatbelt the entire torso is allowed to move forward which means that the head/neck/torso are moving together and the stress is spread out more, theoretically less stress specifically on the neck.
And yes some of those crash videos look terrifying. But without knowing the actual data that results from them (they take all kinds of measurements on stress and stuff on the dummies) it's hard to say exactly what the outcome would have been. Some of the ones with lots of movement might be better because it's a gradual slowing down instead of an abrupt stop.
that helps me understand why a seat belt *may* be safer after a certain weight/age/size. Do we know what size that occurs at? I guess it depends on the exact circumstance of the crash? Perhaps for one type of crash a seat belt may be *safer*, another type of crash a harness *may* be safer? I'm so torn about whether my 4.5 YO is best in a HBB (that fits great) or harness. At what size is child *equally* safe in either, and at what point is the belt *safer* ?All the crash tests seem so circumstantial to me,how well do they translate to real life?