Depictions of poor car safety on TV

[RiverSky]

It annoys me so much when I see children on TV (or in other peoples' facebook pictures, for that matter) who are improperly restrained in automobiles. I am just watching an episode of SuperNanny (I very rarely watch this show) and they just showed the dad in the car, with Jo (SuperNanny) and the two boys in the back seat and they acted as if the car ride was such a success. Sure, the boys didn't fight because the dad talked to them the entire time, but the older boy (not sure, 5? 6?) was squirming in his seat belt (no booster from what I could see) and kept having the shoulder belt on his forearm, with his body twisted, etc. No one corrected him or asked him to sit straight in his seat (I'm convinced he should have been in a booster), at all.

Now that I think about it, I recently saw someone's photos of their 3 year old in a car (non-moving), in the back seat of a very expensive car, with a seat belt on, (no booster), but the shoulder belt was placed carefully behind her. Hopefully, she doesn't sit like that when they are driving, but it freaked me out to even see it. [it wasn't someone I know, I was just able to view the photo because someone commented on the album or some such thing]

Does this bother you?

If the incident happens on a reality program or on a TV show or commercial, is there some place a consumer should write to, to complain?

[HollyBearsMom]

Toy story has a seen with no car set and no seat belts. Drove me crazy but its a million dollar movie so I kind of figured my letter wouldn't make a difference but that didnt stop me from writing one or getting my friends to do the same...

[JElaineB]

I get worked up everytime. DH just rolls his eyes at me. I saw a brief moment of Table for 12 the other day and the kids were still in car seats or boosters as appropriate it seemed but the car seat straps were *way* too loose and the chest clips too low. Made me uninterested in watching the show, really.

[Bokonon]

Yes, especially when I see forward-facing babies on shows and commercials.

[urchin_grey]

Yes! I *always* notice when a kid isn't restrained properly. SO always gives me "the look".

For instance, there's an episode of Heroes where two guys (Hiro and Ando) go to save Matt's baby (Matt thinks the baby isn't his). They show Hiro and Ando and baby Matt in the car, and the baby is RF'ing. I got all excited that he was actually RF'ing, because you rarely see RF'ing seats on TV, especially when its an older baby. Even after their car breaks down, they carry the carseat down the road with them, and they put his seat in the back of an 18-wheeler. Obviously, in real life, there would be no where to really install the seat, but it looked like that's what Ando was doing. At least they kept him in the seat, I was expecting them to ditch the seat and keep him in the front carrier.

Later in the episode though, Hiro and Ando give the baby to Matt and he goes on his way to reunite with his ex-wife (the baby's mom) and as he's telling Hiro and Ando goodbye, you can just make out baby Matt in the back seat... FF'ing! I was sooo pissed. For one thing, Matt was a cop, so shouldn't he know better than two childless dudes that used to work in an office??

Its funny though, because I also noticed that everyone on Heroes wears their seatbelts, even the ones that can't die. I hated seeing Micah in the front seat though, and especially sleeping across the back seat in a convertible.

Wow I totally managed to turn a post about carseats into a post about Heroes.

[AnnieA]

Drives me crazy too. There was a Supernanny episode recently that I watched and the little girls were actually UNBUCKLING and moving around in the back of the suburban while the mother was driving. And Nanny Jo was in the car with them and didn't say anything! I had to turn it off.

[Past_VNE]

We got an ad from our car insurance company in the mail about......SAFETY. What was on the cover of the brochure? A young girl, about 5-6 and about 45 lbs, in a seatbelt only.

I was totally irked.

And, a week or so ago, I saw a friend from HS post a pic of her 13 month old on FB. FF in a seat with a HUGE snowsuit on.

[Erin+babyAndrew]

Originally Posted by Past_VNE

We got an ad from our car insurance company in the mail about......SAFETY. What was on the cover of the brochure? A young girl, about 5-6 and about 45 lbs, in a seatbelt only.

I was totally irked.

And, a week or so ago, I saw a friend from HS post a pic of her 13 month old on FB. FF in a seat with a HUGE snowsuit on.

I avoid pictures on FB for this reason. It makes me so sad to see relatives and friends post pictures of their kids in expired seats, really crappy seats, with the harness really loose or twisted or above the shoulders when rear facing, the chest clip super low... etc..
I once even saw a toddler in an ergo baby carrier, facing out (forward) with her legs coming out from under the hip belt. WTH are people thinking? they simply aren't or they don't give a damn.

[snoopy5386]

YES!! This drives me nuts too. There was a recent episode of supernanny where at the beginning of the episode the youngest - a 3 yo fell down the stairs. They made such a big deal about teaching the boy to hold the handrail going down the stairs and put up gates at the top and the bottom of the stairs (gates - for a 3 yo!!). Meanwhile, they show them in the car later and the 3 yo is in a BPB and the two older boys who were maybe 5 and 7 were in nothing!! Seatbelts totally riding across their abdomens, etc. Never addressed this issue at all.

[DevaMajka]

Moved to TV

[Mommabean]

What about the car commercial with the kid going to the car wash with dad. It is a toyota commercial and it makes me INSANE.

You can see the clip is inches below his armpit level and the straps are too far apart to even be buckled at the buckle.

There are a TON of times I notice this and go bonkers on dh too.

But the worse for me was today seeing a family I know at church putting the 11 month old baby who is TINY for her age FORWARD facing into the car.

[SamiPolizzi]

Originally Posted by urchin_grey

Yes! I *always* notice when a kid isn't restrained properly. SO always gives me "the look".

For instance, there's an episode of Heroes where two guys (Hiro and Ando) go to save Matt's baby (Matt thinks the baby isn't his). They show Hiro and Ando and baby Matt in the car, and the baby is RF'ing. I got all excited that he was actually RF'ing, because you rarely see RF'ing seats on TV, especially when its an older baby. Even after their car breaks down, they carry the carseat down the road with them, and they put his seat in the back of an 18-wheeler. Obviously, in real life, there would be no where to really install the seat, but it looked like that's what Ando was doing. At least they kept him in the seat, I was expecting them to ditch the seat and keep him in the front carrier.

Later in the episode though, Hiro and Ando give the baby to Matt and he goes on his way to reunite with his ex-wife (the baby's mom) and as he's telling Hiro and Ando goodbye, you can just make out baby Matt in the back seat... FF'ing! I was sooo pissed. For one thing, Matt was a cop, so shouldn't he know better than two childless dudes that used to work in an office??

Its funny though, because I also noticed that everyone on Heroes wears their seatbelts, even the ones that can't die. I hated seeing Micah in the front seat though, and especially sleeping across the back seat in a convertible.

Wow I totally managed to turn a post about carseats into a post about Heroes.

Haha. I have a friend who makes the Ando face every time he's rides in the backseat of my car with my DS.

[StoriesInTheSoil]

I'm always glad to read a thread on MDC and know that I'm not alone in my quirks