CAR SEATS

My Cousin Suzy is involved with helping young mothers and during a conversation we had recently she told me that only about 1 in 10 of the car seats that she examined would pass inspection. While most of these failures were due to improper installation in the car there were several other common problems. Among the potential dangers she found were; car seats facing forward in the front seat, children under 1 year old facing forward in any seat position, seats not properly fastened into the car, seats too small or large for the child, and children playing with toys that could harm them in an accident.

Everybody would be safest facing backward while riding in a car. That position gives us the most protection from whiplash. Babies are lucky to have seats that work this way. Infants are safest when riding facing the rear, because the back of the safety seat supports the child’s back, neck, and head in a crash. So, whichever seat you choose in the car, your baby should ride facing the rear until about one year of age and at least 20 pounds.

Infants do not have the neck strength to keep their heads from flopping forward even under normal braking and this sudden whipping of the neck can cause serious injury.

When a child reaches about 20 pounds their necks are developed enough to face forward, but they would still be safer in a rear facing seat that provides more protection in an accident.
Small, lightweight “infant only” safety seats are designed for use rear facing only. This kind can be used only as long as the baby’s head is enclosed by the top rim of the seat. Larger "convertible" seats usually fit children from birth to about 40 pounds.

The simplest and least expensive model usually will work as well as one with fancy features. Choose a seat that you find easy to use, that fits easily into your vehicle and can be buckled in tightly. If you choose a convertible seat, try it facing both rearward and forward. Look for the seat you can use facing the rear as long as possible.

Properly mounting the seat in the car is critical. It does not matter how good the seat is if it is not secured to the car right. All seats have instructions with them, some even have them right on the seat. Follow these exactly. If the mounting instructions are missing go online and look them up at the manufacturers’ web site.
If you are in a financial crunch there are several organizations that will provide a safe car seat to you at no charge. On the other side of that, when you are finished with your car seat donate it to someone who can use it. Never donate, or use a seat that has been involved in an accident. The plastic body of the seat may have small fractures that will weaken it, making it unsafe when needed the most.

Most new car seats now have an expiration date on them. Because the seat spends it life inside your car it is subject to the drastic changes in temperature that take place as your car’s interior heats and cools. Summer temperatures can reach 140 degree inside a car parked in the sun, then cool to the 70’s as your air conditioning runs. This process repeats several times a day, for over a thousand days before your baby is three years old. The plastic body of the car seat can become brittle, develop fractures, or weaken in vital points due to this changing heat stress.

Suzy has been working with teenage moms for years and her observations about car seats are from her real world experience. Keep it in mind as you strap-in your kids or grandkids in the car.

Jim Miller

If you listen to the radio show you know that Jim has been serving as a guest host for about 6 months. Allan and I were getting him ready to fill the inevitable gap that would be left when Allan could no longer do the show.

If you are a customer of Freedom than you know that he is also our Shop Manager.

Jim started to work on cars in high school, working with me part time and in the summers. After graduation he went out on his own gathering experience and improving his skills.

Jim joined Freedom in 1995 and worked for years as a technician. Last year when my wife’s health demanded more of my time and attention, Jim moved to the front office and took over the daily operations of the shop.

Jim is an ASE Certified Master Technician and well qualified to diagnose and repair almost any car on the road. He is also a member of the Texas Auto Writers Association.

Beginning November 10 he is sitting at the phone console during the radio show fielding your questions and providing sound advice dealing with the repair, maintenance and service of your vehicle.

Jim is married to Beckie and has 2 teenage children at home and an adult son.

Stop by the shop and meet him, or join us on the air each Saturday morning and get the benefit of his 20+ years of automotive experience.

New Car Reviews On-Line

If you are looking for a new car you may want to check out our website for the car reviews we have done recently.

These are recordings of the reviews we do on air each Saturday morning. They are not technical evaluations of these cars. You can get all that at the manufacturer’s website. These are what we think of the car. Some are good, some are bad. Some good cars have bad features that we think you might like to know about. We share our driving experience with the vehicle, and our impressions of what to expect from the car.

We add a new car each week. If you do not find what you are looking for there e-mail us and maybe we will have it in our archives.

The car and truck reviews can be found at www.thecarcounselor.com

Did you Know...

During the Christmas buying season, Visa cards alone are used an average of 5,340 times every minute in the United States.