GM Recalling 2011 Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain and Cadillac SRX Crossovers

Today, GM announced it was recalling over 100,000 2011 Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain and Cadillac SRX crossover SUVs because the front seatbelts could come loose in a crash.



While the seatbelts won't fail on a first impact, GM spokesman Alan Adler said, they could fail during a secondary impact. Car crashes frequently involve more than one impact.



GM will begin mailing letters to owners of the vehicles in mid-January. Owners will be asked to bring the vehicles to a GM dealer to have the seatbelt buckles modified.

Link:  http://money.cnn.com/2010/12/17/autos/gm_suv_seatbelt_recall/

Low Speed Crashes Can Still Cause Serious Injury

Especially if occupants are unrestrained.  A vehicle crash at 19mph (30 kmh) has the same impact on its occupants as a fall from a 3rd story balcony.  (Click link for video.)



This video footage may be dated, but the basic laws of physics have not changed.  Force still equals mass times acceleration.

I FINISHED MY ULTIMATE VIDEO!!!

I've always meant to make a video demonstrating the risk of a puffy coat in a car seat.  I have been madly shooting and editing so that I could release the video just before the Kids in Motion conference at the end of this week -- and it's finally done!

I hope this is helpful to CPSTs, Instructors and everyone out there who tries to persuade parents, grandparents and caregivers NOT to harness children over their winter coats. Please share it as necessary, and let me know what you think!

Boosters: Put Your Hands on Your Hips

A lot of parents think that once their child is in a booster seat, all they have to do is put it in the car, buckle up the kid and hit the road.  NOT SO FAST!  Make sure the booster is doing a good job of positioning the seat belt!



How to tell?  To start, "put your hands on your hips."  THAT'S where the seat belt must cross -- on an adult OR a child, in order to properly restrain the body in a crash. 



Whether in a frontal, rear or side impact collision, the body can be thrown in many directions. The seat belt retracts when the vehicle stops suddenly, and is designed to hold the body AT THE PELVIS (hard, bony, strong) and help the body "ride down" the crash forces. 



If the belt crosses over the belly or the belly button, it is much too high.  In a crash, the belt could crush soft vital organs like the liver, intestines, and kidneys as it restrains the body.  A lacerations on the liver or tears in the bowel are serious, life threatening injuries.  They can also change or impair the body forever, e.g., colostomy.  There is also the risk of spinal injury, if the belt impacts the spine (after it's gone through all the soft-tissue organs mentioned above).



The shoulder belt should cross at the middle of the child's shoulder -- not on the shoulder joint and obviously not across the neck.  Again, across the skeleton, not soft tissue.



So what's the best booster seat? Just as with car seats, the BEST booster seat is one that fits your child, fits your vehicle, and can be used correctly 100% of the time.  Each child has his or her proportions -- long torso, wide shoulders, petite, etc., and back seats have many variations:  bench, captain's chair, etc.  Try out several at a big-box store (some will even let you test them in your car) and see which one(s) fit your child best.  And whether you want to play "Simon Says" with your child or teach him the Time Warp, make sure to put your hands on your hips as a reminder!



Here's a terrific explanation of proper booster use, selection and fit, from CarseatBlog (official blog of the wonderful CarSeat.Org.

Is Your Toyota On the Recall List?

In October, I blogged about Toyota's recall of selected models because accelerator pedals were getting stuck under floor mats, causing uncontrollable acceleration.  Yesterday, Toyota recalled and suspended the sale of the models after reports of sticking gas pedals that were causing unexpected acceleration. The company plans to suspend the sale of these vehicles, including the best-selling car in America, the Camry, to fix the sticking gas pedals.



Toyota's suspended models:

• 2009-2010 RAV4


• 2009-2010 Corolla


• 2007-2010 Camry


• 2009-2010 Matrix


• 2005-2010 Avalon


• 2010 Highlander


• 2007-2010 Tundra


• 2008-2010 Sequoia

Consumers who own one of these Toyota models or have questions can call the Toyota Customer Experience Center at (800) 331-4331 (AP).  Please check this list, and forward this information to anyone you know who might have any of the models in question.  Be safe!

Ride a roller coaster with your baby on your lap?

Just imagine:  you're plunging downward with incredible speed, swerving in one direction, then another.  Some people love that feeling on a roller coaster, and get a happy rush of adrenaline -- but if you're on a plane, it's the last thing you want. 



The tallest, fastest roller coaster in the world is Kingda Ka, located at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, USA. Its top speed is 128 miles per hour (206 km/h) and it drops from a peak of of 456 feet (139 meters).  Even your average, run of the mill roller coaster travels between 70-100 mph.  To ensure the safety of its riders, hydraulically-powered steel harnesses brace over the shoulders and around the hips.  Eyeglasses and other loose objects must be removed before the ride begins, so that they do not injure their owners or other passengers should they come loose.

So, would you ride a roller coaster with a baby on your lap? Of course not.  You wouldn't even have a choice: If you tried to ride a roller coaster with an infant, you'd probably be arrested.



Now let's talk about airplanes.  The average commercial airplane travels between 160-180 mph at takeoff, and between 400 and 550 mph at cruising altitude, which is usually 30,000 feet. 



Take a moment to compare:

1. The fastest roller coaster in the world goes 128 mph, while the average commercial airplane travels faster than that on takeoff, and about triple that speed once it's in the air.


2. Riders of the tallest roller coaster in the world fall from a height of 456 feet.  Passengers in a commercial airplane are 30,000 feet above the ground.

So it's obvious that airplanes travel higher and faster than roller coasters, and that riding a roller coaster with a baby in your lap is an unwise and probably unlawful idea.



And yet, when planning a trip, parents wonder, "Is it safe to hold my baby on my lap during a flight? Do I have to buy a seat for him? She's so little, can't I hold her on my lap?" How sure are you that you could keep hold of your baby in heavy turbulence or a crash landing, at 300 miles per hour?  Heck, if I trip while walking down the street, whatever I have in my hands goes flying.  Crash tests conducted at slow-poke speeds of 30 mph have metal crumpling and bodies flying through windshields.



Airlines don't require that children under 2 years have their own seats, but remember that crazy, illegal notion of holding your baby on a roller coaster? 128 mph vs 170 mph.  Five hundred feet vs thirty thousand feet.  Even if it were allowed, I wouldn't do it.



Millions of people fly every single day.  Statistics indicate that air travel is the safest form of transportation, so maybe it's just one plane a year that has to ditch in the Hudson River, skids off the runway, has serious, head-knocking-on-the-overhead-bin-cancel-the-beverage-service turbulence, or inhales a flock of Canadian geese into its engines.  What are the chances that YOUR plane is going to be THAT plane?  Who can tell?



Cost is obviously an issue (especially for families with two or more children) but if at all possible, please purchase a seat for your baby and use an FAA approved child restraint.  Your baby is one in a million, but you don't want her to be THAT one.

Wishing All a Safe & Happy Holiday!

As we head out to our various holiday destinations (H Barry Boo included), I just wanted to send a small reminder to please drive safely and wear your seat belts -- every occupant, even pets! 



In case of a crash, your seat belt will help:

• Keep you from getting banged around the car's interior


• Keep you from getting ejected


• Keep you from colliding with another passenger


• Keep your body in optimum position if the airbag deploys

Also, take off your coats (and baby's too, obviously) and position the belts correctly:  across the hips (not the belly), and across the middle of the shoulder (NEVER behind the back). 



Thanks to everyone for their holiday greetings and treats!  Take care out there and enjoy.  'See you in a few...!

2-Month Old Ejected From SUV (Alaska)

Found this story via Google Alerts. The child was not seriously injured (miraculously):

Tsk, tsk, though: The mom interviewed in the story (not the crash mom) says she does everything she can to keep her 5 month old safe and secure in his car seat, but when they show him, the harness straps seem absolutely un-tightened. Am I seeing this right?

Rear-Facing Advocate Is a Fan of the Car Seat Poncho!

Jim Peralta, aka "Grandpa Jim" is a fan of the Car Seat Poncho.  He purchased several for his grandchildren, and posted a link to our store on his website.



Jim is also a vocal advocate of extended rear-facing, because his grandson, Joel, was critically injured in a car crash.  The impact of the collision threw his body forward, and his car seat did its job of restraining him. But at 18 months, his skeleton was not mature or strong enough to keep his head from being thrown toward the front of the car.  Joel's neck was broken.



As Jim posted on Car-Seat.Org, "Some of the doctors put it in very simple terms...his skull, internally, became detached from his body... and was basically held on with his skin."



Babies and toddlers are not protected from neck and spinal cord injuries in the forward-facing position. The head is the heaviest part of the body at that age, and even at "low" speeds like 30 mph, a child's head would be thrown forward and pull the rest of the spinal cord with it. It's a very graphic term, but it's technically known as internal decapitation.  The American Association of Pediatrics recommends at least 2 years rear-facing, even better would be to rear-face to the height and weight limits set by your car seat's manufacturer.



Watch the news video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcG_CKT1j7c

Keep up with Joel's progress:  http://www.joelsjourney.org/index.html

Ask a lawyer what JJ Cole says about Bundle Me and car seats!

Regarding my post this week on the Bundle Me, one of my FaceBook friends asked, "Is there any pressure by parents or advocates to the Bundle Me makers?"



Answer:  Yes.  So much so, in fact, that JJ Cole, the manufacturer of Bundle Me, has a set response to these concerns. In 2007, there was a thread on this topic on car-seat.org, and o_mom, a CPST, posted this:

"Here is what they say (wording is very important):

"Tests performed on infant car seats with the Bundle Me® installed found that the car seats complied with the Restraint System Integrity and Occupant Excursion portions of the FMVSS 213 requirements. They are NOT saying that the Bundle Me passes FMVSS 213. They are claiming that they tested at least two seats with the Bundle Me installed and that those seats pass FMVSS 213 when used with the Bundle Me. Now, we have no idea what seats were tested and how many ways they were tested (every strap position, etc.) and so on, so it is still an unknown what will happen in your carseat the way you install it. "

Another point raised on the thread is that while their descriptions of the Bundle Me include "use with car seats," none of the car seats in which they PICTURE their product are ever actually IN CARS. They're on benches, on the ground, etc.  So are they actually saying their product can be safely used in car seats that are INSTALLED and IN MOTION? That would be a juicy point for lawyers' feasting if any litigation arose.



So clever are those lawyers, no?



Here's the car-seat.org thread for your bookmarks.

Why Is the Bundle Me Bad in a Car Seat?

This questions comes up several times a year on parenting and safety boards across the internet:  Why do safety people tell you NOT to use the Bundle Me in a car seat?

The answer is that the portion that goes behind the child's back is too fluffy and thick, and does not allow you to properly secure your child in the car seat.  Fluff and bulk in FRONT of a baby and under the harness would compress in a collision, but fluff between the BACK of a baby and the car seat prevents the harness from being sufficiently tightened. 



While a Bundle Me does allow the harness to be directly on the child's chest, it provides only the illusion of security because of the extra "air space" in the back. In order for the harness to completely compress away that air space, it would have to squish down on all the baby fat, flesh and bone to an obviously ridiculous level.  No one would ever do that to her baby, so the extra space remains.  And THAT'S why the Bundle Me is bad for car seats.



To really illustrate the point, I want to highlight the excellent Bundle Me thread on BabyCenter's "Car Seat Questions" board that was posted early in 2009, by lullabymama.  She tested a real Bundle Me, a real car seat and a real baby to see if the fluffy back panel really made a difference, and took photos to document each step:

• Step 1: Put Bundle Me on car seat, seat child and fasten harness to appropriate tension.


• Step 2: Remove child, remove Bundle Me, re-seat and re-fasten child.


• Step 3: Test harness tension by pinching harness straps above chest clip, near shoulder.  If more than 1" of strap can be pinched, the harness would be too loose to safely restrain a child in a collision.

Even I was surprised that the amount of slack!  I am going to bookmark that thread and refer to it whenever the question arises.  A picture is worth a thousand words, as well as the safety of your child.

Toyota/Lexus Recalls: Floor Mats & Accelerator Pedals

Important news for drivers of Toyota and Lexus vehicles:  Toyota is recalling 3.8 million vehicles because the driver's side floor mat could cause the accelerator pedal to become stuck, and lead to unexpected high speeds and dangerous crashes. The automaker and federal officials are urging owners to remove their driver’s side mat while Toyota works out a solution.



Specific models and model years are:  2007 to 2010 Camry; 2005 to 2010 Avalon; 2004 to 2009 Prius; 2005 to 2010 Tacoma; 2007 to 2010 Tundra; 2007 to 2010 ES 350; and 2006 to 2010 IS 250 and 2006 to 2010 IS 350.



For detailed information from the manufacturer:



Toyota press release

Lexus press release



And please pass this information on to anyone else you know who might own or drive these vehicles!