I do not support the nanny state. When the Legislature approved the car seat mandate, I was quite vocal in my opposition, for
numerous reasons.What is even worse than the nanny-state provisions of car seat requirements is that those very car seats mandated by the government can be quite dangerous.
The Chicago Tribune has completed an exhaustive study of car seats. The newspaper writes:
“A Tribune examination of child car seats in America shows how the vital task of making a safe product can clash with the realities of the marketplace.
Car-seat makers enjoy a rare advantage among companies. Theirs is the one children's product every parent, by law, must use. And many parents assume all seats are equally safe, so they choose based on what fits their budget or matches their car's interior.
But the willingness of some executives to dismiss warnings about potential hazards means parents can buy a car seat without knowing all the risks. At the same time, regulators have left consumers in the dark by failing to develop safety ratings for seats or significantly toughen crash tests.
As a result, the device designed to protect the most vulnerable passengers in a car is tested by the government in fewer crash scenarios than the car itself or its seat belts.
Regulation of car-seat manufacturers largely boils down to self-reporting. A car seat can break into pieces during crash tests, the Tribune found, and its maker doesn't have to report those results if the tests fell outside the narrow parameters of the government standard.”Here is the Chicago Tribune’s
complete article.It is outrageous that government mandates car seat requirements, and government then performs inadequate tests of car seats, resulting in less accountability for manufacturers and reduced safety for children.
