Baby on Mom's Lap (very sad)

[ketchupqueen]

Sad and infuriating all at the same time. I would darn well expect it to be common knowledge that a baby on your lap is not safe for anyone in the car. But like a PP said, there is still so much work to be done.

Yes. I would also expect it to be common knowledge that a seatbelt must be locked to install a seat with it. But you don't know how many of those I see... So, um, I guess there's a divide between what common knowledge should be, and it is. That's what we're here for, I guess. I just wish I could do more to reach the really at-risk populations.

 

[Evolily]

How very sad . I hope they catch the guy who fled the scene .

 

[mama2Cecelia]

some people think "it will never happen to them"

been there, done that----I'm a believer in lightning can strike twice, or whatever---not taking any chances

upped my car ins. limits and dd still rides in a harnessed seat at a time when she's almost "legal" to ride in nothing

don't know if people coming here from other parts of the world think they're magically safer being in this country......

 

[Evolily]

don't know if people coming here from other parts of the world think they're magically safer being in this country......

Since she speaks a rather obscure Spanish dialect, and is likely from a rural part of Latin America, where she lived they probably didn't use child restraints at all.

 

[safeinthecar]

Since she speaks a rather obscure Spanish dialect, and is likely from a rural part of Latin America, where she lived they probably didn't use child restraints at all.

Culture plays a part, that's for sure. Remote places not centered around a vehicle based culture are not going to turn out people savvy in car crash dynamics. Ironically, understanding the target culture can also be the best way to educate about car safety. If you can find a way to relate car seats to a well established custom, the change in mindset then becomes minimal. A very successful example of this is the "Cradleboards to car seats" campaign.

Lifestyle is also a stumbling block. Those living a life where starvation and homelessness is a real possibility, are not likely to be open to car seat safety education. They can't even process it. Food ans shelter are at the very top of the hierarchy of needs. If you haven't eaten and you don't have a safe place to sleep, nothing else matters.

Culture and lifestyle are both a piece of the puzzle, but I think the biggest challenge we face is quite simply evolution. I'm not saying that in a mean "Darwin award" type of way either. The world as humans experience it has changed faster in the last century than it ever has. Biologically, we are still hardwired to be wary of predators. Cars are not alive, so are brains don't see one and send off warning signals. We get in that sturdy box and move quickly and that IS SAFETY in a world where getting away quickly is the main defense for prey. In that world, being restrained is being defenseless. We are not made to go as fast as cars take us. The result of that speed does not compute on the instinctive level. We can override the hardwiring through education much the same way you can load software to change the way a computer works, but it takes time. Generations of time. We can tell people people that cars are dangerous, but some we are not going to reach. They are still looking for the lion in the grass. They are not ready. That's OK, tell them anyway. The next generation is listening too. They are the ones that will see the news stories and the "it happened to me" stories, put it together with our message, and realize that car travel really is the lion in the grass in today's world.

 

[bobandjess99]

Culture and lifestyle are both a piece of the puzzle, but I think the biggest challenge we face is quite simply evolution. I'm not saying that in a mean "Darwin award" type of way either. The world as humans experience it has changed faster in the last century than it ever has. Biologically, we are still hardwired to be wary of predators. Cars are not alive, so are brains don't see one and send off warning signals. We get in that sturdy box and move quickly and that IS SAFETY in a world where getting away quickly is the main defense for prey. In that world, being restrained is being defenseless. We are not made to go as fast as cars take us. The result of that speed does not compute on the instinctive level. We can override the hardwiring through education much the same way you can load software to change the way a computer works, but it takes time. Generations of time. We can tell people people that cars are dangerous, but some we are not going to reach. They are still looking for the lion in the grass. They are not ready. That's OK, tell them anyway. The next generation is listening too. They are the ones that will see the news stories and the "it happened to me" stories, put it together with our message, and realize that car travel really is the lion in the grass in today's world.

OMG, thanks! i love that analogy and am totally going to steal it. i use a very similar one when explaining to parents why it is best to keep your baby right next to you at night while sleeping...the babies brain is hardwired biologically to equate proximity to mom as safety, and distance from mom as danger, and even though YOU know a lion isn't lurking in the nursery, the baby doesn't, and is afraid, on a very instinctual level, of being alone in a crib in a different room. :thumbsup:

 

[wondering1]

safeinthecar, maybe you could contact CPST organizations in her area and help bring this message to the public in that area. Perhaps they could contact local law enforcement and see if community service messages with this message could be part of the positive outcome from this very young baby's loss of life.