[DMCForum] Re: Child Car Seats In A Delorean

["ryanpwright" <yahoo1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

--- In DMCForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "wannadelorean" <mcquinlan@xxxx> wrote:
> > 
> So then I shouldn't have to pay for the passenger side air bags
> if I 
> never carry a passenger?  How about my rear seat belts.  I never use 
> them.  How about side curtain airbags for the rear.  Same argument 
> holds.  Same with the pool.  If I don't have kids why do I need
> the fence?  
> 
> You already pay for features that you won't use.  

Yes, because the auto manufacturer chooses to put them in. This is
completely different from the government requiring those features.

> We have blanket laws that cause all of us to incur expenses 
> we will never benefit from.  All the safety features mentioned above 
> are because the car COULD carry people in those seats not because 
> they do. 

But again, this is not because the government requires it. The auto
manufacturers put these features in of their own free will - the seat
belts being an exception, of course.

> On the other side of the argument, what if I don't have kids but 
> someone who wants to ride with me does?  Now they can't or must 
> break the law because I don't have a car seat.  Do you expect
> them 
> to carry a car seat with them wherever they go?

Yes, I do. That makes a lot more sense than requiring every vehicle to
have a car seat. Do you have children? I ask because you make
"carrying a car seat wherever they go" sound like a big deal. It's
not. Consider: Wherever you're at, if you have your kids, you also
have your car seat. When we drive to a friend's house, the kids are in
the carseat. If we then hop in that friend's car and go somewhere,
guess what? The carseat is already with us. We just buckle it into
their car and go.

Car seats are required on aircraft, so anybody who flies with their
young children will have one. They'll have it in the car when they
drive to the airport, they carry it onto the airplane, and when they
get to their destination it will already be with them for use in the
rental car.

It's really not a big deal. It's just a part of having children and
keeping them safe.

> Exactly.  This is why an idiot proof solution that was built into 
> the car would be the safer way to go.  No (or less) chance of 
> operator error.  

Let's get one thing straight: I don't have a problem with this if the
auto manufacturers choose to do it. I simply don't think there should
be a law requiring it. 

> seats will always be needed.  In Florida, a law was recently put 
> fourth that would require children to be in a seat until 10 years of 
> age.  This is nuts.  I think over 1-2 years old a built in system 
> could work better than the existing system.

Wow. That IS nuts! I have a 7 year old daughter who got out of her
booster seat when she was 6. She was big enough to use a normal seat
belt. Until 10 years of age?! Completely insane.

I'm all for letting parents decide when it comes to "older" kids, say
above the age of 4 or so. Require them to be secured in some fashion,
yes, but every kid is different and only the parents should be making
the decision of "Is it time to move out of the car seat and use a
normal seat belt?"

> So, since 80% of the people are idiots and can't put the seat in,
> we 
> should have a law that requires everyone with a seat to take it in 
> to an inspection center and have it properly installed for them.  
> Then we could have laws that require an annual inspection too.  This 
> is how our laws get out of control.  A law to make another law 
> better and them more laws to make that one better.  It never ends.  
> Let's make the law right the first time.

Of course laws like that would be silly. Car seats move from car to
car often, and we can't be requiring inspections every time. I would
prefer getting hospitals involved. Train one or two staff members on
the proper installation of a car seat, and then they can teach the
parents when the kid is born. My wife's midwife checked our car seat
out when our son was born to make sure it was properly installed. It
was just part of what she does. Also, our local fire department often
has "car seat days" where you can bring your vehicle down and they
will check it, and teach you how to do it right.

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