seat belts Archives - Comedy Defensive Driving®

HISTORY OF THE AIRBAG

Daun Thompson — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 13:00:57 +0000

I took a tour at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida over the Thanksgiving holiday. 1968 was apparently a big year, both good and bad. It was the year that Apollo 8 orbited the moon. And the three astronauts aboard were the first humans to orbit the moon. It is said that 1968 remains one of the most tumultuous years in history. Although we had many grand historical achievements, there were also historical assassinations (Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy) and how can we forget the Vietnam war. Also in 1968 the first airbag made its debut in Chrysler automobiles. But the history of the airbag goes way back as far as 1919 when inventions and patents were introduced.

AIRBAGS INVENTED IN 1919

The invention of the airbag can be traced back to 1919 when two dentists filed a patent for airbags to be used in and around airplanes. But other patents and improvements were made in the 1950’s and 1960’s. And, by the 1970’s General Motors began equipping their automobiles with airbags (although I remember we didn’t even have to wear a seat belt in the car until 1986. Safety was an “option”).

AIRBAG v.s. SEATBELT

While airbags are considered a “passive” restraint and are said to act as a “supplemental” restraint, seat belts are considered an “active” restraint. The difference is, the airbag is automatic and the seat belt must be manually buckled. Research has changed the mindset of auto manufacturers who are now aware that the air bag is not meant to be a seat belt replacement, although when combined, airbags and seat belts have saved many lives.

Before 1986, we only had the cloth lap belt like you wear on an airplane. Your mom’s arm was what kept you from going through the windshield before they added the cross belt. And my mom could knock the wind out of you! My Dad used to call my mom the seat belt. Now he just calls her the air bag. Maybe that’s also a phrase from the 1960’s.

Until next week…
Daun Thompson
Writer / Comedienne / Artist

HISTORY OF THE AIRBAG – Comedy Defensive Driving

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Teens and Seat Belts

Daun Thompson — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 17:11:02 +0000

I was under the impression that the majority of people that don’t wear seat belts are the elderly. Since wearing a seat belt (or what they used to call a “safety belt”) became a law in 1986, the elderly have spent most of their lives not being required to wear a seat belt, so perhaps they never really caught on or got comfortable with it. My elderly parents would drive from Illinois to Texas sans-belt (that’s French for “no belt”). My Mother says that wearing the seat belt would wrinkle her outfit. But going through the windshield would surely put a few wrinkles in her outfit and her head, etc. It seems that teen boys have adopted this attitude about not wearing seat belts. My position as a Defensive Driving Instructor does not require that I lecture or “mother” teens about wearing a seat belt. And it seems that teen girls do typically wear seat belts. So, what’s the deal with teens and seat belts?

One would think that the hefty fine alone would encourage compliance with the seat belt law. And not only the fine but since not wearing a seat belt is a moving violation, one would have the option of possibly reducing the price of the ticket and taking a defensive driving course to have the ticket dismissed. Or, if not, the points will be applied to your driving record and your insurance will increase. That would certainly modify my behavior. According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT), motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death among teenagers. And, in Texas, teen drivers have the highest incidence of unbuckled fatalities. Statistics show that in 2015, 293 teen drivers and passengers (age 15-20) died. Of those fatalities, 115 of them (39%) were not wearing seat belts.

The law in this state requires everyone in the vehicle to wear a seat belt, one seat belt for each passenger and driver in the vehicle. No more sitting on laps or sharing seat belts (i.e. no more clown car action). “Who” gets the ticket for not wearing a seatbelt in Texas, depends on their age. If anyone under 17 (under age) is not wearing a seat belt, the driver will get the citation. Anyone 17 or older (of age) will receive the citation. Although I did have an unfortunate 16 year old girl in my class who had received a citation for speeding through a 20mph school zone, and had also received two seat belt citations because her 16 year old friends were not wearing their seat belts. Although she was under 17, she still got their citations. The officer could have also cited her for having more than one non-family member under 21 in the car with her. So it could have been worse. Still, I bet her parents were not pleased. My parents would have killed me and started all over again, creating new, cheaper offspring.

Until next week…

Daun Thompson
Writer / Comedienne / Artist

Teens and Seat Belts – Comedy Defensive Driving

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Child Car Seats – Safety

Daun Thompson — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 06:59:58 +0000

There is much more focus on child safety than there was when I was a kid. We weren’t required to wear seat belts until 1986. Prior to that, safety was an “option” and my Mother’s arm was our seat belt. Now, we are even beginning to see seat belts in school buses. Here are a few of the most current issues regarding child car seats in vehicles.

There is no question that a properly installed car seat can prevent serious injuries to a child and perhaps even save a life. But, studies have shown that the amount of time your child spends in that car seat can cause long-term health issues such as cancer and hormone disruption because most car seats still contain dangerous chemicals. And, just when we thought they were completely safe!

Due to an outdated law from the 1960’s when more people smoked, car upholstering began to be made with flame retardant fabrics. In 1981 kid seats adopted these standards. And most child safety seats today have these dangerous chemicals that can be harmful, even fatal to a child, over time. There are petitions you can find online to help stop these flame retardant chemicals from remaining standard in car seats.

Also, when it comes to child safety in vehicles, a recent crash test shows that, when a child is wearing a heavy winter coat, it may feel like they are strapped snugly into their car seat when, actually, the straps are dangerously loose. Experts say you should always strap your child securely into their car seat without their coat on. Instead of putting the coat on the child, put the coat over them. Or you can even use a blanket. When strapping a child into a car seat, there should be a nice, tight fit of the harness to the child’s body. You should not be able to pinch any webbing up at the shoulder area. And the harness clip (the clip across the chest) should be at armpit level. As for the coat, the same applies to adults. Never wear a heavy coat under a seat belt.

As new child safety standards evolve, we will keep you up to date. After all, you can never be too safe when it comes to your mini me.

Until next week…

Daun Thompson
Writer / Comedienne / Artist

Child Car Seats – Comedy Defensive Driving

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Safety for kids

Daun Thompson — Tue, 25 Oct 2016 18:06:17 +0000

I wrote a blog some time back, happily announcing that both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had issued new “recommendations” regarding child safety when riding in automobiles. Since that time, some things have really changed. It’s nice to see that people are really listening and that we are constantly evolving when it comes to child safety issues. Some schools have even installed seat belts in school buses to provide better safety for kids.

It had been proven that small children are safest in rear-facing car seats until age 2 (yes, two…no longer one). Although this has not changed and children are only required to remain facing backwards until age one, other changes have been implemented. One thing I thought would be problematic about this recommendation, if the rear-facing child’s legs extend beyond the seat, their legs would be pinched between the car seat and the bottom end of the car seat. Not all children grow at the same rate. Convertible car seats address these issues. Like the Graco Extend2Fit Convertible Car Seat. This seat provides 5” of extra leg room to keep your baby safely and comfortably seated in the rear-facing position longer. And the seat also transitions to a forward-facing harnessed seat for toddlers. It also has a feature called the Simply Safe™ Adjust which allows you to adjust the height of the harness and headrest as your child grows.

The study behind the rear-facing child is, while in a front-facing car seat, a crash can jerk a child’s head, causing spinal cord injuries, neck injuries or head injuries. A rear-facing child safety seat does a better job of supporting the head, neck and spine of infants and toddlers in a crash because it distributes the force of the collision over the entire body. One year olds are five times less likely to be injured in a crash if they are in a rear-facing car seat than a forward-facing seat.

Both organizations say older children who’ve outgrown front-facing car seats should ride in booster seats until the lap-shoulder belt fits them. If the seat does not fit them properly in the booster seat, they need to be in a booster seat with a 5-point harness restraint. If their little bodies are too small, they can slip in an accident, causing life threatening injuries when their bodies impact on the adult seat belt. The movement allows increased momentum, crushing organs against the skeleton and the seat belt. There is nothing for the body to impact on when you use a harness. Booster seats help position adult seat belts properly on children’s smaller frames. Children usually can graduate from a booster seat when their height reaches 4’ 9”. In Texas, our age and height requirements are 8 years old or 4’ 9” (whichever comes first). In other words, your 80 year old 4’ 1” Grandmother doesn’t need to be in a booster seat. But the back seat would be the safest place for a fragile little old lady (or a child).

Both groups say that children younger than 13 should ride in the back seat because they still have forming bones and poorly fitting seat belts can cause abdominal and spine injuries in a crash. Not to mention the dangers of the air bags. I had no problem enforcing that one, since my daughter rode in the back seat until she was 17 (not for safety sake, she just didn’t want to be seen with me).

Again, these are only recommendations and not state or federal laws. But, these recommendations are based on evidence from crashes. Just do your best to keep your Mini Me safe.

Until Next week…

Daun Thompson
Child Safety For Kids – Comedy Defensive Driving

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Seat Belts on School Buses

Daun Thompson — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 02:47:45 +0000

I rode a school bus with no seat belts and giant potholes in the road when I was a kid. We’d fight over who got to ride in the last two seats. Those seats were like a ticket to Six Flags. I guess in a small town, kids do what they can for entertainment. Not much has changed regarding school bus safety since I was a kid. Only six states require seat belts on school buses. Those states are California, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, New Jersey and New York.
Every year, kids are killed and thousands are injured in school bus accidents. Since I became a mother, it has always bothered me that school buses don’t have seat belts. I thought that perhaps the reason may be due to a possible fire or the bus crashing into a body of water, where small children may not be able to unbuckle their seat belts to evacuate the bus. After all, there are seat belts on airplanes. And they make darned sure you’re wearing it!
Traditional thinking is that “compartmentalization” is a good way (but not great) to keep kids safe. Since the seat back is high, it’s also padded and very close to the seat in front of it. So, if the bus is hit from the front or the back, those kids should stay within their own little “compartment.” What if the bus is hit from the side or if the bus rolls over? Well then, that is just not enough.
So, why don’t kids have seat belts in all buses? Maybe that will all change. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also says that seat belts make school buses safer. They have made a statement that, this fall, they will come out with some action.
Until next week…

Daun Thompson
Writer / Comedienne / Artist

Seat Belts on School Buses – Comedy Defensive Driving

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