Yesterday I was going through a storage box of misc CPS items searching for something and I realized that I have quite the collection of LBB shoulder belt adjuster straps. I thought it might be fun to play a “guess the strap” game. Unfortunately, I have nothing of value to offer the person who guesses them all correctly (unless they need one of these straps – LOL) so this game is just for fun. And that’s assuming there are others who actually think weird stuff like this is “fun”. Who knows, maybe I’m the only one and I really need to be banished to my own little Island of Misfit CPS Geeks. But I digress….
To be fair, if the adjuster was marked anywhere with the name of the CR manufacturer – I’ve noted that on the sticky. Some of them are pretty easy to guess and others are not. You should be able to click on the pic for a better view. Good luck!
I’m still working on the Maxi Cosi Rodi XR review. It’s been pretty cold so I haven’t been real motivated to get pictures in the car!
For now, three Car-Seat.Org members can enter to win a forum subscription just by leaving a comment in response to this blog. The first member to reply will receive a 2-month Benefactor subscription/extension (current Supporters will be upgraded and extended). Of the remaining comments, two will be chosen at random to receive a 2-month Supporter subscription (or extension for current Supporters or Benefactors). Forum staff and Sponsors not eligible, sorry! You may only qualify for one subscription per forum account and the email you leave in your comment must match your account email address at Car-Seat.Org. If you are not a member, please be sure to register first before you leave a comment!
So, a recent study by an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Highway Loss Data Institute, finds that laws banning hand-held cell phone use don’t really work. Is that a surprise? I don’t know since I don’t live in a state where hand-held phones are banned, but I’ve often compared the use of cell phones to having a living, breathing passenger in the front passenger seat.
Have you ever driven behind one of those drivers who has a passenger in the front seat who has a compulsive desire to look at his passenger as he talks? The guy ends up looking at his passenger more than he looks at the road during his conversation. I always keep that guy in front of me for my safety, though I go insane to have to drive behind him. I daresay he’s more distracted than he would be if he just had his cell phone up to his ear.
Since I’m usually a solitary driver, I know how distracting it can be to have someone in the passenger seat. Perhaps the cell phone is less distracting because at least when I’m talking on the phone, I’m not concerned with how fat my thighs look sitting on the vehicle seat or if I’m driving like a grandpa.
Still, I’ve been behind, in front of, and beside cell phone drivers and I can say one thing: they’re distracted and all over the road. They run red lights obliviously. They cause crashes and maim and kill people. If you see me coming and you’re driving and phoning, I’ll be yelling, “Put down your freaking cell phone!” Though if you look in your rear-view mirror, you’ll know what my mouth is really saying .
Since Evenflo was kind enough to send us a complimentary new Symphony 65 child restraint to review, and since Ulrike has already completed a thorough blog review of the similar original Symphony model, I decided to focus on comparing this new Evenflo 3-in-1 to the other popular Evenflo convertible - the Triumph Advance. For the sake of full disclosure – the Triumph Advance was not a freebie from Evenflo, rather something I bought with my own funds to use as a training seat in our CPS Technician certification classes.
Before I get into specifics – let me clarify the differences between the original Evenflo Symphony and the new Symphony 65 model. They are essentially the same seat but with some structural modifications that allow the new Symphony65 to be rated up to 65 lbs with the 5-point harness. The original Symphony model could only be used up to 40 lbs with the harness. The overall size, shape and weight of the Symphony hasn’t changed. Read More…
Here’s a list of concrete reasons why we recommend rear-facing past age 1 and 20 lbs. That old recommendation that many pediatricians still hold onto stresses the bare minimums of when to turn a child forward-facing. Who wants the minimum for their child? It’s best practice to rear-face to the limits of the child’s convertible carseat: check the label for the rear-facing weight limit and make sure there’s at least 1″ of carseat above the top of his head.
The review is coming soon, but I’ll leave you with this nugget until then. A video is worth at least 1,000 words, which is a good thing because I’ve had a bit of writer’s block lately!
The Orbit Baby Infant Seat is a unique infant seat that’s less an individual seat than a system. When you buy the infant seat you are also buying the stroller, starting you on the path toward stylish products with a green twist. This is a rear-facing only child restraint for kids birth-22 lbs. who are less than 29” tall.
The Orbit Infant comes with an infant insert and harness strap covers. The stroller comes with 2 built-in cup holders and a storage basket (called a Cargo Pod).
In the July 2008 edition of SafetyBeltSafe News, there was an article about a woman in Oklahoma who wants all car seats to have occupant identification labels on them. I think this is a great idea! I’ve had make your own labels on my web site since before it became CarSeatSite.com–it just seems obvious to me that you’d want something on the seat identifying your child if you are incapacitated.
I’ve decided to document how various combination (harness/booster) seats fit my youngest son in booster mode. In these photos he is 5-years-old, 46 lbs and 45 1/2″ tall. He’s at the size where most parents would be thinking about switching from the 5-pt harness to the vehicle’s lap/shoulder belt in booster mode if they had this particular seat. Even though the Evenflo Symphony65 has a 65 lb weight limit for the 5-point harness (please note: the original Symphony model is only rated to 40 lbs), realistically most kids will probably outgrow the harness by height before reaching that weight. While technically he still fits height-wise in the 5-point harness, he’s close to being too tall for it. He’s also well within the age and size range to use this seat in booster mode. As with all the previous combo seat as booster reviews that I’ve done - I’ve used the same seating position in my van – driver’s side captain’s chair in a 2005 Ford Freestar.
The IIHS booster study compared the fit of various boosters using the 6-year-old Hybrid lll dummy who weighs 51.6 lbs (23.41 kg) and has a standing height of almost 45″. In the most recent round of IIHS booster fit testing, the Symphony65 model was rated a “Good Bet”. After seeing the belt fit on my son (whose size is currently comparable to the 6 year old Hybrid III dummy) I would have to agree. Actually, I think the belt fit on my child in my vehicle using the Symphony65 is better than good – I think it rocks! Read More…
New York, Ohio and other states have recently added or updated their child passenger safety laws. All but a few states in the USA have relatively strict laws pertaining to the restraint of children in motor vehicles. Many of these are among the strictest in the world, requiring kids to be in a harness or booster until at least 8 years old . At the opposite end of the spectrum, some states like Florida have relatively lax laws, ending at 3 years of age. Some countries have no such laws at all, for kids or adults. In some cultures, it is normal for newborns sit on a nanny’s lap, having only luck or their parent’s faith to protect them. Is it better to rely on the lap of a nanny, or is it better to have our government nanny us all with restrictive laws?
The debate on motorcycle helmets is not entirely different. Both sides toss around statistics that make their case sound compelling. There are other issues, like cost, hassle and fun. Shouldn’t the driver have a choice? If their risk is higher without a helmet, aren’t they the party that should decide if they want to take the risk or not?
There is one difference with child seats. A legal driver of a motorcycle is presumably beyond the age of reason and their choice will not generally affect the well being of anyone else. Kids 8 and under aren’t even to the age of reason and certainly cannot be expected to decide upon matters of life and death for themselves. They require a responsible adult to make these choices for them. But what if the adult isn’t responsible? Perhaps they don’t know any better, perhaps they don’t care. Skeptics may simply hate goverment interference and seek out any isolated statistic showing that kids don’t need child restraints, allowing them to rationalize behavior contrary to accepted safest practice.
Whatever the reason, is it just OK to say that Darwin’s theory will tend to rid the gene pool of those who choose not to adequately protect themselves or their offspring? We have a lot of superfluous laws in the USA and its states. Is this just another one that wastes the time of law enforcement and the money of its citizens? Or is it one saving the lives of many children and also saving huge sums of money in medical and funeral expenses?
.
