Comments on: Eugene traffic enforcement program, 3-Flags Campaign, begins today

By: Adam Smith

Adam Smith — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:18:45 +0000

What is being done to address the poor actions and decisions of pedestrians, and their detriments to overall traffic safety?

By: Jaculynn Peterson

Jaculynn Peterson — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:03:07 +0000

If you have a specific complaint about car seats, file it here: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq

By: Jaculynn Peterson

Jaculynn Peterson — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:00:17 +0000

Here are a few resources you could try…

http://www.nhtsa.gov/portal/nhtsa_eou/info.jsp?type=all

http://carseatblog.com/?page_id=401

http://www.carseatsite.com

http://community.babycenter.com/groups/a7645/car_seat_questions

http://www.carseat.org

http://www.car-seat.org

http://www.seatcheck.net

By: myquealer

myquealer — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:04:39 +0000

It has been a couple years since we changed our younger kid to forward facing, so I’m cloudy on the details. I think they outgrew the handy infant seat you can carry with you by the time they were six months old. And were too big for the convertible car seat (can be used forward or rear facing) rear-facing rating (which was more than 20 pounds, though I don’t recall what it was) before they turned a year-old.

At the time I looked into other carseats that could be used rear-facing and did not find any/many that had a higher rating than ours. Plus, even if I found one, buying yet another carseat to be used for only a couple months did not appeal to me.

I realize my kids are freakishly large and this is an edge case. Accounting for it would make the wording for the law more complex and harder to understand for the 99% of parents with “more normal” kids.

By: Rose

Rose — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:50:58 +0000

Myquealer – my baby is 20 pounds at 6 months. We bought a Britax car seat once she was too big for the newborn one with the pop-out seat because I had read about the rear-facing issue and want to keep her rear-facing as long as possible. Car seat manufacturers who do not make their limitations clear enough up front are to blame here, IMO. I think this is a very common problem. I was shocked that we needed a new car seat at only 3 months old, then found it very difficult to figure out which seat to buy next because of all the different ratings and requirements. Could EPD make a list of recommendations? Or does anyone know of a group or site that lays it all out?
.-= Rose´s last blog ..Our breastfeeding story =-.

By: Jaculynn Peterson

Jaculynn Peterson — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:15:33 +0000

I checked with the EPD. Here’s what Jenna LaBounty, public information coordinator for the Eugene Police Department, says in response:

Very good question, however I did just check with the author of the release our Traffic Enforcement Sgt. He advised that it is twenty pounds AND one year before they ride in forward facing carseats. Fortunately, there are many carseat options out there that accommodate for a heavier weight range in the rear facing position. Typically the exclusively forward facing seats are for older children. Many models are convertible for both rear and forward facing so that they will continue to meet state requirements and be in the safest position without the need for a new purchase. Please let me know if you or your reader would like further clarification.

Jenna also shared this site –> http://www.childsafetyseat.org –> a resource for additional information about car seats. Jenna’s contact info: 541.682.5197.

By: Jaculynn Peterson

Jaculynn Peterson — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:03:49 +0000

Thanks for your comment. Yes, that does seem strange. You’d think it would state “or” instead of “and” in the rule. I’m going to check into to that…stay tuned.

By: myquealer

myquealer — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:53:12 +0000

I am all for wearing seatbelts, and can’t imagine not properly restraining a child, but this rule is dumb “Infants are required to ride in rear-facing safety seats until they reach both one year of age AND twenty pounds.” Both of my children were over 20 pounds and exceeded the rating for their rear facing seat by the time they were nine months old. I had no choice but to break the law and put them in forward facing.