On my way to work Friday I got in an accident. It was just me and the girls, and amazingly we are all okay. I'm pretty sore, but that is it. I was trying to change lanes at the same time as a van, and I swerved away and then somehow went back into the lane, and we hit. It's still really blurry, I couldn't tell you for sure what happened. Then I ended up on the side of the road, I had gone up the embankment and slid back down. I think, at least. And I'm pretty sure I blacked out for a tiny bit, because the people who stopped said I was slumped over the steering wheel, and I don't remember that. Also, the first I remember they were already at the car. Anyway, I have run through all the emotions, shock, guilt, gratitude, fear, etc. Mostly I am glad the girls are fine. I just don't know what I would do without them. It really freaked Katie out. She has been talking about it constantly since, which I guess is good. She keeps saying, the car got a bonk, mommy was screaming, the truck (van) said GET AWAY! we're all okay, the car is broken, etc. It's weird and cool seeing her try to process everything that happened. But, I still feel so bad.
I am grateful for the nice people who stopped and helped me, the firemen and police, and for my carseats. I don't want to imagine what would have happened if my girls were not in them. And now I'm going to get on my soapbox and talk about car seat laws. I will admit, I'm a bit anal about them. Here are Oregon's laws:
CHILD RESTRAINT LAW: (effective July 1, 2007) Child passengers must be restrained in approved child safety seats until they weigh forty pounds. Infants must ride rear-facing until they reach both one year of age AND twenty pounds.
BOOSTER SEAT LAW: (effective July 1, 2007) Children over forty pounds must use boosters to 4'9" tall unless they have reached age eight.
Each state is different, but most have new laws mandating car seat and booster use. You can find your state's law Here.
The safest place for kids is in the back seat, and in a car seat or booster. And these are LAWS, not recommendations. And if you live in Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, Ohio, South Dakota or Texas, please still keep your kids in car seats or boosters past age 3 and 4. It's just not safe. And I think a bit ridiculous that kids are allowed to use a regular seat belt at age 3. Also, you don't have to buy super expensive seats to keep your kids safe. Expense does not always equal safety. There are a lot of places online that can help you pick a good one. This one is a good place to start. As far as rear-facing goes, there is the standard of one year and 20 lbs, but there are new recommendations that say kids should be rear-facing until two years, and 30 lbs. You can find out more about that Here.
Thanks for reading if you got this far, and keep your kids safe!
Oh, Manda, that's so scary! I'm glad you guys are all safe.
I'm pretty anal about carseats, too. They have safety checks here every once in awhile, and I've gone to make sure my seats are in right. But the one I have a hard time with is the rear facing 30 pound recommendation. That would mean that because I have light kids, Diego at 2.5, would still be rear facing!
Wow! How scary! I'm so glad you're all right though. That's good that Katie is processing it all. It's always kind of cute to hear their interpretations of things.
My doctor even recommended that we keep Lucy rear-facing till she was 18 months. I think it is a great idea. It is amazing how many kids you see that are no bigger than Lucy or Aimee that are foward facing. And on the keeping your kids in the back seat, my parents were really big on this till we were 12. My dad was Ford Motors product liability lawyer in Oregon for awhile and it was amazing how many sad cases he had to work on where a kid 'under the age of 12' was in the front seat and was hurt or killed by the air bag or what-not. It is a way annoying rule for an 11-year-old to follow, but if it saves lives (and it does) it is so so worth it!
I am soooo glad you guys are ok. That is so scary! I'm glad the girls were safe in their car seats. We have always been strict about the car seat issue, too. It really does make a difference! We love you!
6 comments:
Oh, Manda, that's so scary! I'm glad you guys are all safe.
I'm pretty anal about carseats, too. They have safety checks here every once in awhile, and I've gone to make sure my seats are in right. But the one I have a hard time with is the rear facing 30 pound recommendation. That would mean that because I have light kids, Diego at 2.5, would still be rear facing!
I'm off to check out those sites you posted.
Manada! I am so glad you guys are okay, that is some scary stuff. Take it easy for a couple of days, eh?
Oh my gosh! That sounds horrible scary! I'm glad you guys are ok. I'm totally with you about the carseat laws, too.
Wow! How scary! I'm so glad you're all right though. That's good that Katie is processing it all. It's always kind of cute to hear their interpretations of things.
My doctor even recommended that we keep Lucy rear-facing till she was 18 months. I think it is a great idea. It is amazing how many kids you see that are no bigger than Lucy or Aimee that are foward facing.
And on the keeping your kids in the back seat, my parents were really big on this till we were 12. My dad was Ford Motors product liability lawyer in Oregon for awhile and it was amazing how many sad cases he had to work on where a kid 'under the age of 12' was in the front seat and was hurt or killed by the air bag or what-not. It is a way annoying rule for an 11-year-old to follow, but if it saves lives (and it does) it is so so worth it!
I am soooo glad you guys are ok. That is so scary! I'm glad the girls were safe in their car seats. We have always been strict about the car seat issue, too. It really does make a difference! We love you!
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