B
bignis
Guest
It's recommended (http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=29772) that children shouldn't be buckled into rear-facing car seats wearing bulky winter coats. I found an explanation of why loose car seats are worse for the child because they increase ride-down time (http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html#ridedown). I assume the same explanation applies to bulky coats too, but it doesn't make intuitive sense to me, so I'm hoping to get some clarity.
If my child is buckled into a rear-facing seat, the seat itself is tight, the child is wearing a bulky coat, and the child is buckled in as tight-as-possible given their bulky coat - wouldn't the extra padding of the coat be a "good thing"? My thinking is that in a crash, the child would be flung forward, be slowed down by their coat as it compresses (a good thing, right?), then be ultimately stopped by the buckled harness. Extra padding in the coat acts like an airbag effect. This would lead to the ride-down time increasing, less force acting on the child overall, and less injury to the child compared to no coat at all.
The thinking doesn't jive with the recommendation though. The explanation of the "hand catching an egg" (http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html#ridedown) seems opposite of what I'd expect. Could someone explain to me why a bulky coat (buckled tightly) is worse Physics/Forces than no coat at all?
If my child is buckled into a rear-facing seat, the seat itself is tight, the child is wearing a bulky coat, and the child is buckled in as tight-as-possible given their bulky coat - wouldn't the extra padding of the coat be a "good thing"? My thinking is that in a crash, the child would be flung forward, be slowed down by their coat as it compresses (a good thing, right?), then be ultimately stopped by the buckled harness. Extra padding in the coat acts like an airbag effect. This would lead to the ride-down time increasing, less force acting on the child overall, and less injury to the child compared to no coat at all.
The thinking doesn't jive with the recommendation though. The explanation of the "hand catching an egg" (http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html#ridedown) seems opposite of what I'd expect. Could someone explain to me why a bulky coat (buckled tightly) is worse Physics/Forces than no coat at all?