GSP officer recommends FF 2 year old

MorgieBear'sMama

New member

• May 2, 2013

• #1

I was pulled over this morning for no other reason than having RF toddlers.

GSP: good morning how are you?
Me: I'm great sir, you?
Gsp: doing good, may I see your license?
Me: right here, may I ask why you pulled me over?
Gsp: just a minute and I'll tell you. How old are the little ones back here?
Me: 2 1/2
Gsp: you know you can turn their seats around right?
Me: no sir they're 500% safer that way.
Gsp: well I would at least recommend you get new seats.
Me: they're in appropriate seats. They rear face to 35 and 45 lbs.
gsp: what I'm looking at is their legs, they're squished.
Me: yeah, that doesn't matter. I'm trying to protect their necks and spines.
He went to his car, ran my license, came back and told me to have s great day.

I wish they had that passion for pulling over people with 2-3 year olds in boosters or seat belts.

 

MotoMommaNH

New member

• May 2, 2013

• #2

:twitch:

wow...

You sounded a lot more calm that I would have been.

 

happiness-and-balance

New member

• May 2, 2013

• #3

Oh my. I wish they would pull people over for 2 & 3 year olds in boosters, too.

:thumbsup: for ERF, though. I've gotten plenty of odd looks but no one has pulled me over for it (yet).

 

Shaunam

New member

• May 2, 2013

• #4

WTF? I'd be calling the station and letting them know that is totally inappropriate and they have REAL problems to deal with...like 2 and 3 year olds in boosters! Also let them know that NHTSA recommends rf'ing until 4 and their officer is mistaken.

 

aeormsby

New member

• May 2, 2013

• #5

Wow, that's crazy. I'd be tempted to send their stations a thanks for the concern note and some info on best practice in carseat safety.

 

scariestone

New member

• May 2, 2013

• #6

Shaunam said:

WTF? I'd be calling the station and letting them know that is totally inappropriate and they have REAL problems to deal with...like 2 and 3 year olds in boosters! Also let them know that NHTSA recommends rf'ing until 4 and their officer is mistaken.

Click to expand...

:yeahthatmad: Absolutely call and report it. In most(every?) state it is illegal or at least against regulations for an officer to pull you over without probable cause and since you weren't doing anything remotely illegal it was a huge no no for him to pull you over just to try and lecture you. I still find it rather unbelievable that I never got comments from strangers. DS was RF until he was 4 but at that point he was the size of a 6 year old.

 

creideamh

Well-known member

• May 2, 2013

• #7

I was installing DD's car seat into her babysitter's car the other day and she had a very similar story- her friend was pulled over for having her 3-4 y/o RF (though the officer thought the kid was unrestrained since he just saw like the head facing backward... and an unrestrained kid is a primary offense here.) AFAIK, he didn't tell her to turn her child around, though. I'd be really annoyed and dropping off car seat information!

 

Phineasmama

New member

• May 2, 2013

• #8

I don't think it was an illegal pull over since he obviously in his very misguided way thought that her children were not in the correct seats and therefore unsafe Which we all know is ridiculous. I would definitely be writing them to let them know how ridiculous this is, a complete waste of time and can we please focus on children who are ACTUALLY in danger?!?! I see teeny tiny kids in low back boosters or nothing at all (!!) on a daily basis. Surely he can find some of those people to write tickets for.

I wish all police officers could at least get SOME kind of informal (at the very least) training on child restraint use. Some of them don't even know the laws :/

 

MorgieBear'sMama

New member

• May 2, 2013

• #9

I do plan on printing out the AAP recommendations to take to the office along with the GA state law.

I wish I could have told him more but I was so scared he would FIND a reason to write me a ticket. I almost wish he would have told me to turn them around just so I could tell him I couldn't since my car doesn't have tether anchors.

 

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician

• May 2, 2013

• #10

I would take the NHTSA recs... the AAP support what he told you, lol.

Crazy that he would do that! Seriously, how about pulling over the parents that IGNORE the law instead of the ones that exceed it?!

 

MommyShannon

New member

• May 2, 2013

• #11

Wow! I wonder if its like that other case and he saw an older kid looking out the back and thought they weren't restrained. I agree they need to be educated correctly, but I'm glad they are looking at kids in cars!

 

Baylor

New member

• May 2, 2013

• #12

Shaunam said:

WTF? I'd be calling the station and letting them know that is totally inappropriate and they have REAL problems to deal with...like 2 and 3 year olds in boosters! Also let them know that NHTSA recommends rf'ing until 4 and their officer is mistaken.

Click to expand...

You don't know he is not. He is at least looking.. I think it sounds like he will be looking into it. He cares about the kids..

 

eddis

New member

• May 2, 2013

• #13

You were *way* calmer than I would've been! I haven't been pulled over for ERF, but once I went to pick up a friend and her son at her son's nursery school, and one of the teachers/aides who was helping to load kids in the carpool lane scolded me for having DS still RF. (He was four at the time.) I think I said something about him still being within the limits of the seat, or that it was best-practice, but I didn't want to pick a fight at my *friend's* school. I was seething, though.

 

A

Athena

Well-known member

• May 2, 2013

• #14

You handled that so well. I agree to follow up, but I also agree that he may really care, enough so that I'd keep that in mind when following up. And take the NHTSA recs too.

 

TXDani

Senior Community Member

• May 2, 2013

• #15

Unbelievable

 

J

jjordan

Moderator

• May 2, 2013

• #16

Well, it sounds as though he was well-intentioned. I think that if someone like that were educated on what is safest for kids, he could be a great person to have patroling the highways! And who knows, maybe what you told him sparked his curiosity enough where he'll try to find out more.