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Keeping Safe From Your Kids’ Car Seats?
Aug 22 2008 by Sara Lacey
8/22/08
Buckle Up Those Empty Booster Seats
In a car accident, a booster seat could save a child’s life — unless, of course, no one is sitting in it. Then it becomes a dangerous projectile.
When your kids get to be booster-seat size and age, you might notice that booster seats, which are available with and without seat backs, don’t buckle or latch into the car’s seats. So, what happens in a car accident when no one is sitting in the booster seats?
In an accident, unoccupied booster seats will become projectiles, hurtling through the cabin at the same speed at which you were traveling before impact. This means you or your passenger can get nailed by a car seat that’s moving at 45 mph. That can’t be good.
To avoid this, have your kids buckle in those boosters after they get out of them. That way the booster seats stay put. I love a simple solution, don’t you?
User Comments
Another reason to buy a Volvo wagon: built-in booster seats.
I always thought it was a cool option, but the fact that they’re both safe for the kids and safe when the kids aren’t around, sure adds to Volvo’s safety reputation.
And you know Lori, it’s not like I don’t also have lots of other unrestrained items in the car besides boosters, either.
Eugene, you are right. Built in boosters are yet another reason to love Volvo! Do you have one? Are you going to get one?
Some boosters can also be LATCH’d into the vehicle, eliminating the risk of an unoccupied booster becomming a projectile (always check the manual).
p.s. I’m concerned that these pictures will give parents the wrong idea of how to buckle a booster—the shoulder belt never goes under both armrests.
Wow. That never even occurred to me. And now I have one more thing to try to remember. Wish me luck!