Thursday September 27, 2007
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Thursday September 27, 2007 | How Did The Human Race Ever Survive Until Now? | Kids |
Pam Kong's recent post, along with Craig Bender's and Dan Lacher's comments, reminded me of discussions I've had with my own parents about child
safety. Given that I agree with most of the safety precautions we take
these days, I also wonder how much safer these extra measures really make us.
Are we just a little safer, with the illusion of "total" safety, or are
we really much, much safer?
We recently rode in a friend's minivan and our daughter sat in their extra car seat. As I put her in I noticed that it was very old and improperly installed. I'm pretty sure that it would have done nothing in an actual accident. I did my best to quickly fix what I could (it was pre-LATCH tech) but all I remember from that drive was worrying about being in accident. Fortunately it was a short drive.
Craig/ThinGuy made the comment about never wearing seat belts as a kid. I, too, have many memories of long drives with nothing in terms of safety. We had a 1964 Volvo P544. No, I'm not that old but my dad liked old cars. He would disassemble the back seat so both the bottom and back rests were horizontal. This so my sister and I could both lie down and sleep. It also exposed the trunk, electrical wiring and much bare sheet metal. Still, I felt safe back there.
As we grew older we (kids) would usually sit in the front seat. We would
shift the gears. Later we would even steer the car. Sometimes we'd do
both. With bench-style seating this is easier than it would be today.
Today my father would probably be arrested for child endangerment and locked up
next to Britney Spears.
On the plus side, I passed by driver's test with ease. I drove our other Volvo, a 1966 P1800.
So, were we just lucky and stupid? Or is safety less about the equipment and more about taking the right precautions and fully understanding the risks? While I'm sure we are technically safer, much of our safety could just be illusion. If we become too reliant on the technology to keep us safe then we run the risk of failing to use common sense and may become less safe as a result.
That's when the robots will take over and kill us all.
Tags: car safety seatbelts seats
September 27, 2007 10:51 AM PDT Permalink | Comments [5] |
Trackback URL: http://blogs.sun.com/kevin/entry/how_did_the_human_race
Comments:
"If we become too reliant on the technology to keep us safe then we run the risk of failing to use common sense and may become less safe as a result."
Amen. Save for the robots part, I think that has already happened.
Posted by ThinGuy on September 27, 2007 at 11:56 AM PDT #
My family had a 63 Ford Falcon (and I *am* that old, alas) and it didn't have seat belts, of course. On the other hand, some of my most vivid memories are of my head bouncing off the dashboard after a sudden stop. And remember that reflexive action
of all drivers of that era, namely that when the brakes go on, the arm goes out across
the chest of the passenger. Often got embarrassing when you were driving casual acquaintances.
As far as the safety goes, I suspect having the kids restrained and not bouncing around the car is a lot safer in terms of driver distraction more than anything else.
Seat belts help a lot in a small class of accidents, a little in a larger class, and not at all in a lot. They even make it worse in a small class. Safety is all about trade offs. There are very few absolutes, and we often go overboard in this regard.
Posted by Brian Utterback on September 27, 2007 at 11:59 AM PDT #
To be clear, I am not against car seats and other safety precautions. However, the law of diminishing returns starts to apply after a while. California law currently requires booster seats for kids 6 years or 60 pounds. Last year they tried to raise it to 8 years and 80 pounds. Since most existing booster seats are only rated for 60 pounds that would have been a lot of cost with little, if any, benefit. Fortunately, it was vetoed by the Governator.
My wife and I have had this discussion a lot since we became parents a year and a half ago. I think we all suffer from a cultural affliction called "Awareness".
Aren't like one in 3 kids autistic now? Are autism rates really shooting up or has the definition of autism changed?
Did you know that if you let your baby sleep on his stomach HE WILL DIE? Seriously, when my son was born, there was an actual friggin' warning sign on his little PJs about never leaving him on his stomach. As a result, he never learned to crawl. He just sort of rolled around on the floor until he learned to walk.
So we got fed up with it all. I've regressed somewhat in my parenting style. I've been called a 'cave man,' and not in a good way (if there is one). Basically I make sure there are no wild animals or downed power lines around, and I just sort of let him do his thing. Sure he has a baby seat, and we have a baby gate blocking access to the kitchen, and he can't just run out into the street, but that's about it.
You know the big secret to my parenting style? I WATCH him. He puts something small in his mouth, I go in after it. He falls down, he cries. Nothing a band-aid and a storybook can't fix. He rolls in the dirt, plays with dogs, jumps from the coffee table to the couch. "Oops, mommy left the scissors out, give those to me please, thats dangerous. Thank you."
I'm expecting social services at my door any day now.
I know all this stuff saves some lives, but I really doubt today's kids are statistically much safer than we were. I do, however, think that manufacturers are safer. From litigation.
You know, it's funny. I drive a 1994 Mazda truck, with no air bags. People can't believe I drive that vehicle, it CAN'T be safe without airbags! What if I get into an accident?
Last time I saw a smart car it occurred to me that this car doesn't have crumple zones, it IS a crumple zone.
Posted by Mike Mandell on September 28, 2007 at 01:23 PM PDT #
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