Would this have happened if the child had been RF?

[Adaline'sMama]

please see below.
Edited by Adaline'sMama - 5/17/11 at 12:56pm

[Adaline'sMama]

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110513/NEWS02/305130103/Indiana-girl-fighting-catastrophic-neck-injuries


I have heard all the reasons to keep a child RF for as long as possible, but Ive never seen a human example of it. Is this an injury that could have been prevented by RFing or would this have happened anyway?

This happened pretty close to where I live, and I saw the article yesterday, but it happened back in October. I googled it, but I couldn't find an article with more details. My DH and MIL both want DD to FF because its more convenient, and I think this is a prime example of why not to. Does anyone else have actual human examples of something like this happening. (Ive shown the crash test dummies, and it didn't seem to have the same effect).




Edited because I'd been NAK and the spelling was horrible.
Edited by Adaline'sMama - 5/17/11 at 1:20pm

[Tofu the Geek]

http://www.joelsjourney.org/

This web site is about a little boy who suffered the same injury and also survived. I believe there are other stories on his web site of a couple other children this has happened to as well. His grandpa was infuriated that this was a result of forward-facing and he did a lot of advocating to keep kids RF longer.

[MJB]

Holly, that article has been weighing heavily on my mind the past few days too. That is the exact injury that rear-facing can prevent. It's terrifying, isn't it? That poor little girl. 

There aren't a lot of stories about these injuries because they are usually fatal, and are simply reported as automobile fatalities without the details. 

[chickabiddy]

Some crashes are unsurvivable.  Some crashes are severe enough that occupants will be severely injured.  We want to believe that if we do everything "right" our kids will be safe, but unfortunately, that's not always the case.

My educated guess is that the specific injury she suffered would not have happened if she had been rear-facing.  That does not mean she would have been uninjured.

[Adaline'sMama]

Originally Posted by MJB 

Holly, that article has been weighing heavily on my mind the past few days too. That is the exact injury that rear-facing can prevent. It's terrifying, isn't it? That poor little girl. 

There aren't a lot of stories about these injuries because they are usually fatal, and are simply reported as automobile fatalities without the details. 

Its made me so aware of how many babies I see FF that are way little. I wish the article gave more details, Id like to know how fast the vehicle was going and if it was a head on collision or what type of accident it was. Was it rush hour? If so, they couldn't have been going that fast. Its really scary. I sent it to all of my family members who think Im crazy for "not letting Ada see everyone."
" Its like a right of passage when babies turn one." Ugh.

[Tofu the Geek]

I believe it said that she crossed the centre line, hit a vehicle going on the opposite direction on the driver's side, then hit another vehicle head on. I don't recall seeing the speed listed.

[DahliaRW]

These accidents also make me wonder if it'd been a 5yo or older ffing harnessed would the injury have happened?  Would a 5 or 6 yo in a booster be safer in this situation because of how the body is held back in a harness?  Obviously the mother was ok, though she was ffing in a seatbelt.  It's one of the things that irks me about not having data on harness vs. booster for older kids.

That being said, this child was 3 and would have obviously been best off rfing.  Boostering is not even a safe option at that age.

[new2this]

I have to go with chickabiddy. 

Its been proven the RF is safer but in all honesty there are just way to many variables that come into play of an accident. The type of accident, the speed, the type of vehicle, was the seat properly installed and on and on. Its just one of those things. That even with the most accurate research out there, there is also to many variables to say 100% it woudn't have happened if she would have been RF. What a sad story though. 

[Adaline'sMama]

Originally Posted by DahliaRW 

These accidents also make me wonder if it'd been a 5yo or older ffing harnessed would the injury have happened?  Would a 5 or 6 yo in a booster be safer in this situation because of how the body is held back in a harness?  Obviously the mother was ok, though she was ffing in a seatbelt.  It's one of the things that irks me about not having data on harness vs. booster for older kids.

That being said, this child was 3 and would have obviously been best off rfing.  Boostering is not even a safe option at that age.

I guess this was my line of thought. I mean, its really too bad that cars arent just made with the seats all facing that way except for the drivers seat

[MJB]

Originally Posted by DahliaRW 

These accidents also make me wonder if it'd been a 5yo or older ffing harnessed would the injury have happened?  Would a 5 or 6 yo in a booster be safer in this situation because of how the body is held back in a harness?  Obviously the mother was ok, though she was ffing in a seatbelt.  It's one of the things that irks me about not having data on harness vs. booster for older kids.

That being said, this child was 3 and would have obviously been best off rfing.  Boostering is not even a safe option at that age.

That line of thought is the reason I moved my second son to a booster at 5, rather than keeping him harnessed for longer (my oldest was nearly 7 when I moved him to a booster). I'm hoping to go straight from a RFing convertible to a booster with my daughter. 

[Mom2M]

OMG. That is so horribly sad.

[MSWmama]

So sad. There was a story in my area of a 14 month old "properly buckled into her car seat" (but FF) who died after their car was rear-ended by a woman looking for her cell phone on the floor of her car.  I don't know enough about the child's specific injuries, but I think about that story often and wonder if the baby could have been saved by RF.