Kyle David Miller Foundation - Car Seat Safety

Our children and their  safety is something about which we care deeply. That is why our law firm involves itself in various types of litigation involving child safety. Awhile back we were touched by a video we saw on youtube about a young boy, Kyle David Miller (see here). He unfortunately was killed in a car crash. He was not in a five point harness, but rather a booster seat which utilized the car's seat belt. When we personally saw the video, our family was driven to find a booster seat for our children that had a five point harness. We realized that the booster seat we were using, which used our car's seat belt, was not securing our children the way they needed. We have since learned that there has been a foundation set up in  memory of Kyle which collects money in order to buy 5 point harness seats for children up to 80 lbs. who otherwise would not have access to them. Check  out the video and website to learn more  about the foundation. 

Britax Child Seat Recall

Here is yet another child seat recall report.  What is most disturbing is that Britax has in the past seemed to have a better reputation for their car seats.

Summary:
 CERTAIN BRITAX MARATHON CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEMS, MODELS E9L06, E9W06, AND E906, MANUFACTURED FROM MAY 23 THROUGH JULY 28, 2006. DURING TESTING, THE TETHER HOOK OPENED WHICH FAILS TO CONFORM TO THE DYNAMIC PERFORMANCE AND CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEM INTEGRITY REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 213, CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEMS.
Consequence:
 THE MANUFACTURER HAS NOT YET PROVIDED THE AGENCY WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THE CONSEQUENCE AS IT RELATES TO MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY.
Remedy:
 BRITAX HAS NOT YET PROVIDED THE AGENCY WITH A REMEDY AND NOTIFICATION SCHEDULE.
Notes:
 CUSTOMERS MAY CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153); OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.

Booster Seats

Booster seat versus car seat...what a dilemma. I had bought a  booster seat for our  daughter...one of the seats that utilizes the car's seat buckle.  We figured she is  five years old, most of the children in her class were using booster seats, and she meets the height  and  weight requirements for the seat.  But every time I would look in my rear view mirror, and the car was making even the  slightest of turns...there she  was moving  around...the seat essentially not doing  anything to protect her.  Then I saw this video, and realized that my worries were not unfounded.
 

Seat belts first off do not always work, they do come unlatched, and they also fail. Secondly, seat belts are made for an average sized person of at least 80-100 pounds...certainly not made for a child who is between 30 and 40 pounds. We started researching more, and learned the number of children who fall victim to this every day.We quickly replaced our booster seat with a five point, tethered booster seat.  The one  we chose can be found here. At least now when I look back at her in my rear view mirror I see her in her seat, staying in one place.

Rear Facing Infant Seats

As a parent,  this  video makes me  think twice  before turning our daughter to  a forward facing seat.