Sikkerautostol.dk – bagudvendt – vejen fremad

Jeff is an extremely cautious and well-trained driver. We were going the speed limit, 70,(110 km/t) slower or the same as the rest of the flow of traffic. We happened to be going around a very slight curve. On this particular stretch of road, there is a ditch either side (before the barrier, in the case of the divider.) It was filled with gravel. The curve meant the wheels were already turned. When we hit whatever the obstacle was (probably a truck tire– do they EVER clean that stretch of the 10? It looked awful on the way back!) we went straight into the gravel. Jeff braked and attempted to regain control, but there was simply no time to react before the high speed, gravel, ditch, curve combination slammed us into the barrier. I’m sure a police-trained driver may have been able to do it, and I may suggest a special course as Jeff is always willing to learn better  But he is one of the best drivers I know, and this was simply not preventable

Why I do what I do

Most of you know I’m carseat crazy. You may even think I’m bordering (or even crossed the border) on carseat insane. But do you know why I do what I do? Because it saves lives. How many times do we see on the news that children, parents, families died in a horrible car crash. My job is to try and prevent those stories. I have a friend, named Anne. Anne is just as carseat crazy as I am. What I am posting below, is her story. She and her family were in a crash a few days ago. They could have easily been one of those stories on the news. But they weren’t, because Anne is carseat crazy. Make sure you read the entire thing. Read how many times they crashed and rolled. And read what the (very few) injuries were. Then look at the pictures.

On our way to Phoenix, just a few miles away, my husband (driving our 2002 Odyssey) hit an obstacle in the road. We don’t know what it is, but we all felt the bump, then were airborne, and onto a gravel shoulder. We skidded on the gravel. The van hit a barrier (right at the rear driver’s side, where my 4 year old daughter was seated.) It then flipped across the highway. My husband was braking the whole way. (He had just had the tires rotated and pressure checked, and the brakes replaced.) It slowed us considerably. We went into a ditch at an angle and became airborne. We went down on the passenger side of the vehicle, nose first, and then flipped over upside down.

My daughters (the 4 year old, almost 5, and her 2 sisters, 6 almost 7 and 2 almost 3) were screaming. This meant they were alive and I was glad. My husband and I were suspended by our (properly worn) seatbelts. I had significant neck pain. My husband was able to exit the vehicle fairly easily, but I was trapped; I had to be extracted with the Jaws of Life (after fending off a bystander who wanted to cut my belt with a pen knife and pull me out, yelling at him, “Do not cut my seatbelt! Wait until the EMTs arrive to hold c-spine! If you want to do something, get me a jacket and treat me for shock!”)

My 4 and 6 year olds were harnessed properly in properly installed and used, tethered seats. (The 6 year old is usually boostered, but because it was a late night trip I didn’t want to risk her falling asleep and falling out of position.) My 2 year old was rear-facing. The heavy cargo in the van was all packed tightly down in the bottom of the trunk, compartmentalized behind and under the seat as much as possible before we left. My husband and I had our seatbelts and headrests properly fastened and adjusted and were seated in proper position.

My husband has a mild lung contusion and abrasions from his seatbelt and “road burn.” I have a lot of stitches in my arm (which dragged along the ground outside the car– the trauma surgeon says that the braking slowed us enough to save me from having it ripped off) and on my face and bruising all over. My 6 year old has minor abrasions (more road burn) and bruises. My 4 year old, with the most severe injuries, suffered a severe cut to her foot (aptly and completely repaired by great surgeons) and a broken leg (remember, she was AT the first point of impact, a side impact.) My 2 year old, who was in the rear-facing seat, was completely unharmed. Not a mark on her. Nothing. Despite the fact that we landed on the side of the car she was on (she was behind me, I was in the second row passenger seat, and the forward-facers were second and third row driver’s side.)

Brio Zento er navnet på den autostol Anne´s 2-årige datter sad i. Den er bagudvendt til 25 kg. Den fik en dårlig bedømmelse i bla sidekollisionstesten  i forbrugertesten der udkommer to gange om året.