seatbelts and kids

tyney

I had my 4 year old out for a spin, and noticed that with a booster seat installed in the back, his head and shoulders are above the top of the level of the back seat. In the event of a rear end shunt, his head would be walloped off the back screen. In future it will be belt only, no booster, and we'll argue it out with the police if we are pulled over. I know that you don't have to have belts in tha back of older cars, but there is a point at which using the letter of the law becomes negligence. Anybody got any experience of dealing with the gardai on this matter, or do they just leave you alone once everyone is belted up?

corktina

it's your kid and you are using your common sense. Once the belt fits properley,thats all that matters...( a poorly fitted belt (or in this case an ill-advised booster cushion) could cause more injuries than it saves.)

My wife is a paramedic and the accidents that upset her are the ones involving kids....not nice to find a child half-thrown through a window and another half way across a field because they werent strapped in.......

3ps

tyney, when i bough tmy car in Germany my son came with me and I brought a booster seat in my luggage. I never used it as it fits him perfectly.... this is because the reels are at shoulder level on the real parcel shelf.

Victor

Did you have him in the back seat with no seat belt? Then why the booster?

tyney

Victor wrote:

Did you have him in the back seat with no seat belt? Then why the booster?

no, I wouldn't let him in it until I fitted belts, the problem is that the the rear seat is so small that it only comes up to the back of his head without the booster. The booster raises him up too high and his head is nearly touching the roof.
In My car, no belts= no child passengers, no exceptions.
Anyhow I don't want 4 stone weight hitting the back of my neck either

overdriver

The booster is a legal requirement in a regular car for kids of a certain age.

skibum

I use one of these: http://www.recarochildseats.com/

Boosters are fine but I think these offer better protection and peace of mind.

MercMad

I think the new laws are not fully thought out. I read similar stories in some of the UK classic mags about booster seats in convertibles etc. etc... where the owners claimed it would be more dangerous to use the booster seat.

The answer from the MP was, the law is the law and there are to be no exceptions ! Thats fine in a modern car where seats and anchor points are made to a specific regulation whereas with older cars this is not the case and I agree that each owner should be aware of the law but decide what is best for their own childerns safety !

Personally my 2 1/2 YO will stay in her full childseat in the rear of any/every car and my 6 3/4 YO will not use the booster in the rear for the reason suggested above i.e the should belt is on the rear parcle tray and it is low enough without raisng her to a level where the lack of a headrest could cause more injury !

If I get stopped I will argue my case, and if I get a ticket I will go to Court and if I get no sense I will either tear up the fine or go to jail !!

Up ya buoy ya !!

green-blood

just a point on the regs

the regs dont indicate what type of restraint shoudl be used "by age" but by weight and height and age is given as an indication... once the child is properly restrained, safely you wont have any issues.

tyney

MercMad wrote:

I think the new laws are not fully thought out. I read similar stories in some of the UK classic mags about booster seats in convertibles etc. etc... where the owners claimed it would be more dangerous to use the booster seat.

The answer from the MP was, the law is the law and there are to be no exceptions ! Thats fine in a modern car where seats and anchor points are made to a specific regulation whereas with older cars this is not the case and I agree that each owner should be aware of the law but decide what is best for their own childerns safety !

Personally my 2 1/2 YO will stay in her full childseat in the rear of any/every car and my 6 3/4 YO will not use the booster in the rear for the reason suggested above i.e the should belt is on the rear parcle tray and it is low enough without raisng her to a level where the lack of a headrest could cause more injury !

If I get stopped I will argue my case, and if I get a ticket I will go to Court and if I get no sense I will either tear up the fine or go to jail !!

Up ya buoy ya !!

I'm with you, up to the jail bit anyway. I think the gardai will treat this on a case by case basis. A lot of them will have married nurses and teachers, and will have kids of their own, so I'm hoping common sense will prevail

Victor

MercMad, if you are so strident about boosters, why not also encourage classic owners to fit seat belts, headrests, etc. to their cars.

MercMad

MercMad, if you are so strident about boosters, why not also encourage classic owners to fit seat belts, headrests, etc. to their cars.

.........not sure I understand your angle, but I replaced all the seatbelts front and rear on both my cars, with new inertia rell types, before anyone else ever rode in them !

beanderb4

Mercmad,

Where did you pick up the belts for the 280?

MercMad

Howdy !

Check out the following links...........both Kits apppear to be the same, I got the former but then happened upon the second set which seem cheaper !

The holes are already there, front and rear, threaded so its a simple job !


Here's the 1st link, you can't get directly to it so clink below, scroll to W111c Accessories and you will see the kit, down further for mounting instruction !

http://www.dbdepot.de/englisch/index.html


http://www.strich8basis.de/gurt.htm