What I Have Seen Lurking....

Mylilboyblue · Dec 14, 2007

Now I *know* I am not a professional or a tech, and while I have been a carseat fan since my brothers (10 and 12 years my junior) were babies I by no means know everything....BUT....

In the span of two days I have seen right in my apartment complex a Century 5000 STE, a Fisher-Price T-Sheild (not the newer navy one but the even older grey with black sheild), and if that wasn't frightening enough I saw a Graco Snugride installed facing forward. How the heck do they do that!?!?!?!?!?! The Century and Fisher Price had to be about 15-16 years old since my brothers had those back in the day and an INFANT carseat facing forward? Maybe it was wrong of me because I am not a tech or anything, but I left a note on their window of the forward facing snugride with the number to the police department in our town (we have trained techs) and a list of convertables of all prices. Sigh, what scary things lurk in the backseats of cars everywhere.

Christine

melniemi · Dec 14, 2007

I know what you mean! Here in MI the law is 'under 4' and lots of people push the limit. I almost never see preschoolers in any seat and I've seen so many old, icky looking seats! My 16 yo sis had that Fisher Price w/black t-shield! Yikes. I try not to look.

BookMama · Dec 14, 2007

melniemi - I'm in Michigan too, and I agree that SO many people push the limits. I saw a woman leaving DD's day care a couple of months ago with what had to be a 1,2, and 3 year old in NO car seats. (I like to assume they were at least buckled but I couldn't tell.) I haven't seen her since or I would have called the cops, though I suppose that Ypsilanti cops have other things to do.

Not to mention what I see when I drop off/pick up DS from first grade. I'm sure he's the only harnessed first grader (though I did see a couple kindergartners with harnessed seats on a field trip day) and few of the kids are even in boosters.

Wonder if I can pick them up with my eyes closed ...

melniemi · Dec 14, 2007

I wish they would change the MI laws. The last cpst I went to said they are working on it, but then again, I wasn't impressed by her. I hope she was right tho and that they speed things up! I am quite sure my son is the only 1st grader in a booster. My son in K has a girl in his class with down syndrome and she has a harness that she wears on the bus. I thought it was great that the school accommodated that. I wish more people cared about their kid's safety and thought less about the inconvenience of a carseat! I always hear the "can't wait to get rid of those seats" like they are a disease. I reply "my kids won't be big enough for an ADULT belt until they are 12!"

BookMama · Dec 14, 2007

There is currently a bill to change the child restraint laws in Michigan - I don't recall the details off hand, but I believe it was an 8yrs/80lbs law. It has passed the state house but has been languishing in the state senate ... no movement on the bill since June, I believe. (Can't find a link to the wording of the bill and the actions that have been taken ... it's somewhere on michigan.gov.)

When I took my CPS course over the summer, one of the women had worked for the state senate. I don't recall the exact details, but she indicated that someone influential in the senate was against the bill and that's why previous similar bills had failed. Nice, huh?:thumbsdown:

ETA: I knew I could find the link: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(cf...g.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=2007-HB-4536

Jeanum · Dec 14, 2007

The Michigan booster bill went to the transportation committee in late June, and there it sits.

There's an older thread in the News/Media section of the forum with a link to the bill and its status sadly hasn't changed in almost 6 months.

Here's the thread: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=15193
and here's the booster bill status link: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(2o...g.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=2007-HB-4536

Bookmama edited her post while I was typing up mine.

I also wonder how responsive the local police might be to a report of unrestrained children. I know the Ann Arbor police responded surprisingly fast when someone I know reported a dog left in a parked car on a hot day.

BookMama · Dec 14, 2007

Jean, Ypsi has 39 police officers for 27,000 residents (incl. Eastern students), and even that may go down. I'm thinkin' they may not respond too quickly to child restraint violations. (Though I'm sorely tempted to try it sometime.)

http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/2007/12/ypsilanti_budget_woes_likely_t.html

Jeanum · Dec 14, 2007

Yup. It could also depend a lot on the dispatcher, number of total ongoing calls for service, and how the calls are prioritized at any given moment. I'm also willing to bet the A2 police response to the dog situation would not have been so fast had it been a football Saturday, or if other higher priority calls were coinciding.

melniemi · Dec 14, 2007

Thanks for the info about MI's laws. I wish they'd hurry it up! I know they'd have lots of angry parents who would need to buy boosters but we'd have a lot of safer children!

What I Have Seen Lurking....

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