Friday, May 28, 2004

It’s the law, Ma’am

By RICK RYCKELEY
Contributing Writer

When Mom stomped on the brakes, the green station wagon with faux-wood panels slid across the wet pavement right into the path of the oncoming car. Things in the car went flying.ÊSo did we.

Nothing could be done to avoid the crash. It was too late.ÊShe had told us boys to stop fighting even before we backed out of the driveway.ÊSaid it distracted her when she drove.ÊI think she just said it so we wouldn’t fight.ÊAs always Twin Brother Mark, Big Brother James, and Older Brother Richard didn’t listen.ÊI, on the other hand, always did, me being the little angel that I was growing up.

Halfway to the neighborhood swimming pool, Mom turned around for just a second to tell us for the tenth time to stop arguing.ÊMark had called me a bugger-eating, cootie face, and I just couldn’t let him get away with it.ÊI jumped him.Ê We rolled over James and back over Richard.ÊThe green station wagon with faux-wood panels rocked side to side.

Mark had told James that I was in love with Jennie, the new girl that sat right in front of me in Mrs. Crabtree’s class. She always smelled like coconuts.ÊJennie, not Mrs. Crabtree.ÊMrs. Crabtree always smelled like an old person.

All it took was a second!ÊWe heard the other car’s tires screeching and horn blowing, but by that time, it was too late. Mom was already halfway through the red light when she yelled, “Hold on, boys!” I yelled back to Mom that I was already holding on; holding on to Mark’s hair with one hand and punching him with the other as we rolled around the light blue bench seat.

CRASH!ÊBAM!ÊWhen Mom hit the other car, Mark and I slammed into the back of the front seat and landed on the floor board in a crumpled mass.ÊThe station wagon skidded to a stop with a lurch, and Mom started to cry. I told her it wasn’t so bad.ÊI landed on top of Mark.

Back in the day, no one wore seat belts. Especially us kids.ÊWe always tucked them back behind the seats and for good reason. Being strapped down with a seat belt meant you couldn’t fight back if one of your brothers jumped you. And with four brothers, someone was always getting jumped.

When the police officer arrived, Mom told him what had happened.ÊShe wasn’t paying attention to driving ‘cause she was yelling at us. The officer said he completely understood; he had three girls at the house.ÊHe knew a lot about fighting. Mom still got a ticket. There was minor damage to the green station wagon with the faux-wood panels and minor damage to Mark.

Growing up we never wore bike helmets, either, and we survived, although my brothers would say that I did suffer brain damage when I was young. We never wore seat belts, and we survived. But many children didn’t. That’s why seat belts and car seats are the law.

And come July 1, there will be a new one on Georgia books. Any child who is six years of age and younger must be in a child restraint device. That means a car seat. It also means if you don’t have one, you’ll have to go out and buy one.Ê But there are a lot of different car seats on the market: infant carrier, convertible, high-back booster, backless booster, and 3-in-1, just to name a few.

So which one do you buy?ÊIt’s simple. Buy the seat that fits your child and fits your car.ÊStill confused? No worry.Ê That’s what I’m here for.ÊKeep reading.

Children under 12 months and 20 pounds should ride in the center of the back seat facing the rear.ÊSome car seats will allow them to ride that way longer, but there is a maximum length and weight so check the label on your seat to be sure.ÊGenerally, these seats will be called infant carriers or convertibles.ÊAfter the child reaches 12 months and 20 pounds, then the seat can be turned around facing forward, but not if you have an infant carrier. If you have an infant carrier you must buy a new seat.ÊConfused?ÊKeep reading; I’ll help.

A convertible car seat means that it will “convert” from rear-facing to forward-facing and for some, then to a high-back booster. When in a forward-facing car seat, children can either be in the center location, behind the driver or behind the passenger.ÊThe child will be in the five point harness of the seat till they reach 40 pounds. At which time they come out of the harness and use the seat as a high-back booster if so equipped.

A high-back booster seat will always be either behind the driver or the passenger and will always use a lap shoulder belt.ÊIf your have a newer car and the center position has a lap shoulder belt, then the booster seat can be used there also.ÊThe clips on the side of the seat will adjust the shoulder belt so that it doesn’t go across the neck.ÊCheck the seat before you buy, some go as high as 100 pounds, which was about how much I weighed when I landed on Mark on the floorboard.

The next week Mom got the car fixed. Mark healed up on his own in a couple of days.ÊSure wish we’d had high-back booster seats when we were young. Mark would’ve been a sitting duck in one of those.

[Rick Ryckeley is employed by the Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services. He can be reached at saferick@bellsouth.net.]