Seatbelt syndrome?

popsicle

New member
Does anyone have some good links to info about this? I rode with a friend today, and found out that she lets her 2 boys, 6 and 4, ride with the shoulder belts behind their backs. I tried to gently let her know that that was unsafe and explain to her why. She's uh, a little hard headed about some things though. She said she let them do it because the shoulder belts hit them too high. The 4 year old was in a low back booster and the 6 year old was in nothing. I gave her my evenflo chase booster. Told her I was planning on giving it away anyway. (Which is true, I don't like it or need it.) Anyway, I couldn't find the manual so I told her I'd send her a link to it online. I though I'd try to slip a link in there about lap belt only injuries too. I'm hoping she'll put the 6 yo in the LBB and use the chase for the 4 yo. She's a very close friend, so I don't want to offend her, but I love her boys and want them to be safe.

Sorry for the novel.
 
ADS

smurf

New member
If you google "Chance fracture" you should get lots of information. It's a fracture of lumbar or thoracic vertebrae resulting from MVA with lap belt only use (among other causes)
 
Even better tell her to google "seat belt syndrome" and then look at the images (not with the children present) and let her see for herself what could happen to them, not to mention their insides.
 

Morganthe

New member
I notice you're in Alaska and I wouldn't be surprised if your friend is not particularly worried about vehicular accidents. Can you casually mention the fatality & incident rates of Moose vs auto or even going off the road in bad weather? I know they're pretty high up there.

She's probably quite content with the idea that her kids are restrained in the first place. The more open the land, the less seatbelt compliance there is. TX has the same problem :(
 

azgirl71

CPST Instructor
It is a sad thing :(. A girl that I grew up with lost her 4 yo DD 10 yrs ago to a severe case of seatbelt syndrome. I know the details of the crash from my instructors who are emt/ firefighters and worked the scene. They told the story in class and I told them i knew who it happened to and when they asked her name I told them. They said I was correct.

I have never been able to bring myself to ask her about her story. She knows I know what happened. I am going to be doing a training session for parents at the preschool her son attends. It will be difficult for her I am sure when I talk about seatbelt syndrome. Maybe I will be able to get up the courage to ask her her story. We have known each other since 3rd grade. We are both in our mid 30's now.
 

popsicle

New member
I notice you're in Alaska and I wouldn't be surprised if your friend is not particularly worried about vehicular accidents. Can you casually mention the fatality & incident rates of Moose vs auto or even going off the road in bad weather? I know they're pretty high up there.

She's probably quite content with the idea that her kids are restrained in the first place. The more open the land, the less seatbelt compliance there is. TX has the same problem :(

Yeah, this may have a lot to do with it. Alaskans tend to have a "We don't give a darn how they do it Outside" attitude, and unfortunately it extends to seatbelt usage. My friend adores her boys though and I know she would do it right if she understood the dangers. We've actually had a huge upswing in traffic fatalities the last several years. Especially in winter. We've had a huge population increase and that means a lot of people on the roads in winter who never learned to drive on snow and ice. And of course, no one wins in a car vs moose accident. I will probably just casually tell her to do a search on seatbelt syndrome. And maybe send her the crash test video above. Thanks everyone!
 

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