Share the scary thing you have seen concering misuse/nonuse ect.

Share the scary things you have seen concering misuse/nonuse ect.

I don't know if it is just where I live or what but I see terrible things all the time! I mention them to my husband or mother and they just roll their eyes or say, "yeah, well what can you do? They aren't your kids."

Some of the things I have seen are:

~Under two yearold, no seat at all not even a seatbelt
~Babies still being carried around in a bucket seat(newborn seat) well after they have outgrown it. Like 18-24 months... ugh!
~Not buckling in a infant carrier
~Leaving the buckle undone, just buckling the chest clip on 2yr old.
~4yr old in just a seat belt, seen several of these.
~One year olds in boosters.
~A woman in my LLL with two older children and a 9month old. Her husband put the babys convertable CS in the car FF w/o the positioner and it was moving about 4in in either direction. She actually asked if anyone knew about carseats and I went to her car to see and I reinstalled it and told her the importance of RF to the weight limit.
~My neice has been without a carseat since 3 I think, she is now 9 and I think she should still be in a booster. She will not wear her seat belt right, she usually puts the sholder portion under her arm.
~People holding their tiny babies while the car is moving. I once say a woman in the back seat nursing(yea for her) a newbornish baby and the husband drove out of the parking lot.


I KNOW I have seen more, but I will stop there. I just dont understand why so many people are completly ignorant about the safety of their children in a moving vehicle. I am the kind of person who delibertaly researches and does everything to do the best/safest thing for my child.

There are a lot of moms who are very receptive to info about car seat saftey but there are many that just shrug me off. I am on the younger side for a mom (23yrs) and I feel like a know it all sometimes, especially when I see something that an experienced/older (than me) mom is doing wrong. Sometimes I cant get the courage up to say anything, even though it kills me inside!!

Anyway, I know you guys are the same in thinking as me. I just wanted to share with people who understand what I am going through.

My friends 2 yr old just buckled with the chest clip-I discovered after I got home with him is the rain (i was babysitting him)

4 yr old nothing, seatbelt behind back.

7 yr old the size of a 4 yr old nothing ever in mom's and dad's car...

kids just running around in the backseat all ages while parents are driving

2 yr olds in bucket seats.

Two toddlers bouncing up and down in a front seat of a very nice luxury car going about 70-80 in a 55mph zone.

I called a non-emergency number, and the guy got pulled over. He was given a few tickets.

Didn't 'see' this but someone in a playgroup I was in freely admitted to driving (SHE was driving) on the highway to the next state with her infant unbuckled but placed into his carrier which was not installed in the passenger front seat...AND...omg...nursing him while enroute so as not to waste time stopping. :thumbsdown:

Needless to say she and I had a loooooong private talk about car seat safety. And I'm happy to report that I believe she's being much, much safer now. She even asked me to check her child's convertible after her dh installed it...and kept him rf'ing after 1 at my suggestion!

And I have to shamefully confess that when ds was very little (like 6-8 weeks) I was driving on the highway with him and all of a sudden got a terrible bad feeling...pulled over and realized I'd never buckled him into his carrier!!! We had one of those covers that was elasticized and went over the entire seat and I'd placed him in, had gotten distracted and never buckled him but didn't realize because the cover was over him. Oh my...I cried and cried there on the side of the road. Wasn't intentional, of course, and we all know what the new mommy fugue state is like but I still felt awful.

CTPDMom said:

And I have to shamefully confess that when ds was very little (like 6-8 weeks) I was driving on the highway with him and all of a sudden got a terrible bad feeling...pulled over and realized I'd never buckled him into his carrier!!! We had one of those covers that was elasticized and went over the entire seat and I'd placed him in, had gotten distracted and never buckled him but didn't realize because the cover was over him. Oh my...I cried and cried there on the side of the road. Wasn't intentional, of course, and we all know what the new mommy fugue state is like but I still felt awful.

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Oh, I know how you fell. I guess that could be another thread. IE all the things we(car-seat.com members) Have done before we knew better.

I let my LO ride in a carseat my mother got (from I have no idea where) That I was pretty sure wasnt safe because I didnt have a extra seat for her car. That didnt last long though.

Also I have a Mountaineer, and I always have installed DSs carseats in the middle of the back seat. It has only a lap belt and it is a automatic retractable one. When people would ride in my backseat (namely my teen brothers) they would mistakenly unlatch the seat belt holding the Snugrides base and not tell me. Then when I would turn, over the seat would tumble, baby in it and all. Obviouslly not my fault but I felt horrible. The baby was fine and never even made a sound. This happened more than one time. I finally made it a point to check everytime I but him in his seat to check the seat belt.

CTPDMom said:

Didn't 'see' this but someone in a playgroup I was in freely admitted to driving (SHE was driving) on the highway to the next state with her infant unbuckled but placed into his carrier which was not installed in the passenger front seat...AND...omg...nursing him while enroute so as not to waste time stopping. :thumbsdown:

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I have nursed DS in his carseat but he was properly installed and seucre. I was the one putting myself at risk by unbuckling to nurse him. We don't do that anymore as I know it is a risk to everyone in the car for anyone to not be restrained, because they become a projectile and could collide with other passengers in the car in the event of a crash.

friends 2yo, who's been FF since he was 9mo (despite me sendng videos and info), has a completely loose seat. She claimed her Dh had removed it and not installed it back yet, but when I rode in her car again 2 weeks later the seat was still just as loose. She said she's thinking of buying him a booster even though he's not even close to outgrowing the seat. He says he rides totally loose in her dh's car, standing between the 2 front seats.
Lots of friends with just turned 12mo FF. Lots of loose harness and belly chest clips.
A friend who carried her SIL's 1yo for a ride to a relative's house on xmas eve cause the SIL had gone out of town and accidently taken the car seat

*People using a infant carrier FF while the child is around 2yrs of age.

*Not buckling in the infant carrier or not using the base correctly.
*Chest clip to low and harness not tight enough.

*My cousin put her 1yr old straight from a carrier to a highback booster, only using the seatbelt behind the child. I told her it was not safe and she then bought the Scenera.

*Parents not keeping their child rear facing long enough.

*Not putting their child in any kind of carseat.. Just sitting or playing in the back seat.

~DHS Driving a 1 year old in a FF seat, with a puffy coat and about a fist-space between child and harness.
~DHS Using an expired seat!!!
~I saw a lady with 4 kids, ages maybe 1 to maybe 5. She had a 1985 (looked like a bike carrier for baby) FF seat for the 1 year old and no other seats in her car for the other children.

Not long ago I saw a child sitting in a car seat in the back seat, not strapped into the seat, nor was the car seat strapped down. The kid was using the car seat as a bouncing device, bouncing up and down all over the back seat. It was all I could do not to get out and say something when we stopped at a light. I knew I couldn't take her, though.

ETA: I miss you Laurette, and all the For Babies Sake ladies. It's good to see a new pic of Gabe. Hope I can visit soon.

Gosh I've seen so much stuff now it doesn't phase me as much as it once used to. Can't remember everything I've seen but some of it would be....

* Not using the splitter metal plate at the back and just tying the harness straps together in a knot
* Putting the child in the seat, doing up the harness and putting the seatbelt arounddddddd the seat (seen that one a lot).
* A new born (as in, born that day or a few days before) FF in an infant capsule, no handle (broken off), no harness system, not even seatbelted in
* Mother breastfeeding her child (seen this a couple times) whilst there was a perfectly good, empty seat in the car
* Young boy sitting in the middle of the back seat on someone's lap, his car seat was in the front of the car (newish car seat too) with wait for it...... a box of bananas sitting in it..
* Broken expired evenflo joyride, no cover, basically a piece of plastic junk, forward facing, with a 2 year old sitting in it using it as some sort of "booster" so he could see outside of the vehicle, with the seatbelt wrapped around it
* I see a lot of forward-facing six month olds, but that's technically not illegal (depending on the seat of course) where I am, so nothing I can really do
* Have also seen quite a few one year olds in booster seats
* And of course have seen many many completely unrestrained babies, toddlers and children

There's so much more I've seen just can't remember right now!

Everyday I see lots of kids and infants who are not in car seats. Using them is not part of the culture here and is considered bad in many ways because babies often cry when they are in them.
I see infants and kids sitting on their mothers' laps in the front seat ALL THE TIME. DH's old manager and one of his close friends drive around with infants and children that are not in car seats.
I didn't leave the house today but I watched (from my balcony) 4 neighbors' cars pull out filled with kids and babies, not one of whom was in a car seat. Yesterday, I saw 6 kids + 3 adults piled into a small car that holds a max. of 5 people.
What is saddest about all of this is that the UAE has one of the highest fatality rates due to car accidents in the world. Most people drive reactively, not proactively (KWIM?) and national males often drive at high speeds on roads in the town.
Just today I had to move over quickly to let someone who was coming up behind me pass - he was easily going 180 km/hr. (The speed limit is 80 km/hr.) This happens every day.
People in the U.S. drive wonderfully, and are much more conscientious about their LOs' safety, in comparison.

jessclear said:

Not long ago I saw a child sitting in a car seat in the back seat, not strapped into the seat, nor was the car seat strapped down. The kid was using the car seat as a bouncing device, bouncing up and down all over the back seat. It was all I could do not to get out and say something when we stopped at a light. I knew I couldn't take her, though.

ETA: I miss you Laurette, and all the For Babies Sake ladies. It's good to see a new pic of Gabe. Hope I can visit soon.

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OMG!!! Look at Hannah!!! She is adorable! And shes got hair too!

What is she riding in now? Didnt you have a purple decathalon?

DesertQueen said:

What is saddest about all of this is that the UAE has one of the highest fatality rates due to car accidents in the world. Most people drive reactively, not proactively (KWIM?) and national males often drive at high speeds on roads in the town.
Just today I had to move over quickly to let someone who was coming up behind me pass - he was easily going 180 km/hr. (The speed limit is 80 km/hr.) This happens every day.
People in the U.S. drive wonderfully, and are much more conscientious about their LOs' safety, in comparison.

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Where are you? I wasnt sure what UAE was. Sorry is I am just stupid.

the seat part of a swing, assumeable being used as a FF carseat. (didnt actually see the child in it but it was in the car)

amyg530 said:

the seat part of a swing, assumeable being used as a FF carseat. (didnt actually see the child in it but it was in the car)

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OMG!!! I guess it would also be acceptable to use a bouncy seat as a carseat too, Lol

Hannah's in a DC still, just a different one. Our old one was the Odyssey print, kind of light blue/purplish. We were t-boned three days after moving here and had it replaced with the Tiffany one. We kept the old cover though, so now I have two!
I rear-ended someone last month too, but decided it was a minor collision and didn't get a new seat.
The drivers here a TERRIBLE. So much worse than Dallas, if you can believe that. Even though the last wreck was technically my fault, it was do to several other drivers not following simple traffic rules.
Anyway, sorry to high jack the thread, just had to say hello.

Also, other than being bad drivers, I have not seen many ERF/EH children here. I have found a seat check place that advocates for it though. I am having our seat checked on Thursday and getting their opinion on replacing the seat.

I am trying to become a tech also, just can't find a course yet.
Good luck with that. Hope you find a course soon.

jessclear said:

Hannah's in a DC still, just a different one. Our old one was the Odyssey print, kind of light blue/purplish. We were t-boned three days after moving here and had it replaced with the Tiffany one. We kept the old cover though, so now I have two!
I rear-ended someone last month too, but decided it was a minor collision and didn't get a new seat.
The drivers here a TERRIBLE. So much worse than Dallas, if you can believe that. Even though the last wreck was technically my fault, it was do to several other drivers not following simple traffic rules.
Anyway, sorry to high jack the thread, just had to say hello.

Also, other than being bad drivers, I have not seen many ERF/EH children here. I have found a seat check place that advocates for it though. I am having our seat checked on Thursday and getting their opinion on replacing the seat.

I am trying to become a tech also, just can't find a course yet.
Good luck with that. Hope you find a course soon.

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Oh wow, I have never been in a wreck with Gabe. Once though a woman rear ended us (my DH and me) when we had left Gabe with my mom. There was nothing wrong with OUR car. But the womans car was bangged up and her insurance card was expired.

Then our car was smashed into when it was parked in front of the house and was in the shop for two or three months.

I never though to replace our carseat since he wasnt in it either time and the hits werent near where the seat at all.

But now I am wondering...

It seems like every day I see a 2 year old in just a seatbelt. Our laws suck as it is and people figure 2 is "close enough" or "so and so doesn't use a car seat". But the worst thing I've seen was a family dressed to perfection, in a ridiculously expensive car, zipping down I-75 going about 85 mph and whipping through traffic. An 18-24 month old was waving their arms and crawling between the front and back seats while mom sat in the back holding a baby about 9 months old. There was an infant seat sitting sideways next to them. That same day I saw at least two 2 year olds in just seat belts and a boy about 3 curled up so the lap portion of the belt was under his armpits. I tell DH this all the time (in fact I just did about an hour ago when we were on 75) but if you can't tell a kid is in the car until you look DOWN and see part of a hat...then they need a car seat!!!!

I read the first 7 posts, but had to stop. My BP is rising.