Wide White: This is way more than just "click it or ticket"

Thursday, June 01, 2006

This is way more than just "click it or ticket"

This is wrong.

I wasn't going to post this because I read about it when it passed a few months ago. It made me mad then, and still makes me mad.

However, the law goes into effect today, and I realize there are probably some parents who read this who it may affect.

Bottom line: If your kid is under 8 years old, you'll get a ticket if they're not in a car seat!

It's a little more complicated than just that. If you'd like a chart from the Department of Transportation explaining things, click here. (Note: it's a PDF.)

If you can't open a PDF, Owen also posted the flow chart here.

That's right, a flow chart. This thing is so comprehensive (or complicated) you need a flow chart. And what gets me is if your kid is between 4 and 8 and is over 80 pounds, he/she doesn't need a car seat. Are we trying to encourage obesity here or what?

It's a happy day for Graco. It's a sad day for low income families who now have to spend another $80 on something the state has told them they must have.

Car seats are great. Hey, I have no doubt it's safer for kids 4-8 to be in a car seat. But it would be safer for adults to be in a car seat for that matter. Why don't we just drive NASCAR vehicles? So what if we have to pay an extra $10,000 for our cars...if the government deems the safety precautions necessary, let's mandate them!!

In a related story, a Wisconsin bill was recently proposed to allow kids to hunt at the age of 8. So once you've unbuckled your 8-year-old from his/her car seat you can hand the kid a rifle and go shoot a deer.

Good grief.

8 Comments:

Billiam declared,: Don't ya love the nanny state? Apparently, though, this is what most americans want.; 6/01/2006 3:17 PM
Anonymous declared,: Minnesota has the same laws, for childcare providers, One year we CAN take them in conversion vans for fieldtrips, the NEXT year we can't anymore because they're "unsafe". Then they tell us we can buy the little buses to transport them, because most childcares have $35,000 just laying around! Now they say we can bring them in our cars but all under the age of 8 need car seats, they must have not considered most people don't have super limos to fit 8 car seats. That's why they're call passenger vehicles. My truck does NOT fit 5 car seats, so then the "state" says well don't go on field trips then! Yes that's a good plan not have any fun this summer and then the parents complain that we don't go on field trips. Let's not forget that renting the Ryder Buses cost at least $200 for 3 hours (they once again didn't figure in traffic of course) So the latest change in state rules is every childcare provider MUST take a 3 HOUR, that's right 3 HOUR, class on seat belt safety???? before you
take anymore fieldtrips ....uuhhmm last I checked I knew how to buckle seat belts and car seats. So of course all they don't schedule enough "classes" for the state and they're all booked up for the summer, cause you'd think they'd offer more than ONE class per month!! These are just minor feelings I have towards the DHS and Licensing Division. Oh yeah aren't these the same "people" who say 8 year olds can legally stay home by themselves now.....GOSH, choke them!!; 6/01/2006 3:38 PM
Jeff Burton declared,: Thank you for posting this - I wasn't aware of it. We will have to have a laminated copy of the flow chart in our vehicles - along with a bathroom scale and a tape measure. Sheesh.; 6/01/2006 5:19 PM
kristi noser declared,: No, cbass doesn't mean that she wants to choke the 8 year olds...

One of my sisters told me I shouldn't have Eli in the front seat. He is 5'1" and weighs 95# I know people with driver's licenses that are smaller than he. This micromanaging chaps my hide, too. Pretty soon we will have to have carseats for our elderly parents as well. Hey, the're not as physically stable as some 8 year olds! Where's the legislation?!!; 6/01/2006 5:20 PM
Anonymous declared,: Kristi you're so funny haha! although, Lord forgive me, sometimes I do want to choke them:) and they're not 8:(; 6/01/2006 5:39 PM
Mark declared,: As an American with three children below the age of 8 and one who just barely makes at 9 --

"Apparently, though, this is what most americans want."

Yeah right!!! Not parents! Car seats may be safer, but when you're struggling to teach a child some semblance of independence...and then the state requires you to put them BACK in a car seat so they once again cannot reach their own seat belt. Geesh!; 6/02/2006 12:27 AM
Keithslady declared,: Stephanie, I put my two independent bucklers in booster seats. No separate straps, just buckle on the regular seat belt. The legality of it irks me, but as long as I have to "render unto Ceasar" I will make the best of it. They do stay put better and they enjoy a better view....; 6/02/2006 9:36 AM
Mark declared,: One of my potentially independent bucklers still can't manuever the seat belt around the booster seat. That's the problem. If he could just slide it over his lap, he'd be fine and then it's just lining up the tab A into slot B. But, getting it around, then down, and then in...that's just too much for him at this point.

But, again, my children have special needs, and coordinating their motor skills is part of that.; 6/05/2006 8:50 AM