Importance of a 5-Point Harness Carseat
The Kyle David Miller Foundation was started in December 2006 after the Miller family lost their 3 year old son Kyle in a motor vehicle crash on May 29th 2005. Kyle was sitting in a booster seat but his seat belt failed which caused him to be ejected from the vehicle and killed. At the time the family did not know there were 5-point harness car seats available for older/larger children. They believed that a booster seat was their only choice.
After his death, the Miller family researched car seats extensively and found that car seats existed that could hold a child in a 5-point harness up to 80 pounds. They believe that if Kyle had been in one of these seats, he would have survived their crash. Even today in 2011 this fact is rarely known.
Below are comments on the Video from one of the most knowledgeable CPST that has worked with Kids Are 1st.
Anne Lenaburg Hamilton Ok. Problems with their story:
-True seatbelt failure is VERY rare. In this instance, a sibling was also in a booster, in the opposite seat, and had only minor injuries. No one can be sure that the belt wasn't just unbuckled or something....
-A booster is a very, very safe choice for children over about the age of 5.5 or 6 (able to sit correctly, bones are beginning to develop more strength) who meets the manufacturer's minimum and who the belt fits properly.
-Lower anchors have a maximum that should be followed. (Top tethers are not the same thing, that's a separate issue.)
-The potential for seat misuse is higher with a 5 point than a booster for many caregivers.
-The largest gap in safety for children in America is children over age 5 who are unrestrained or restrained by seatbelt alone. In a vast majority of deaths and injuries, a properly used and fitted booster would have prevented serious injury to these children.
Anne Lenaburg Hamilton So, while I applaud their effort to do good, and I do support "extended" harnessing in that I think a properly used 5 point harness should be used until true booster readiness, and I do not think that a properly used tethered forward-facing... harness is less safe than a booster for older children, I don't support misleading hysteria mongering that makes parents likely to be afraid of a booster, or misuse a 5-point, either. :)
Kids Are 1st Kyle David Miller was 3 years old at the time of the accident and weighed over 40 lbs. It was noted on their web site that Kyle slipped under the seat belt and was then ejected from the vehicle. When a child slips underneath the belt the CHP calls it "submarining". A 5 point harness may have prevented this.
After his death, the Miller family researched car seats extensively and found that car seats existed that could hold a child in a 5-point harness up to 80 pounds. They believe that if Kyle had been in one of these seats, he would have survived their crash. Even today in 2011 this fact is rarely known.
Below are comments on the Video from one of the most knowledgeable CPST that has worked with Kids Are 1st.
Anne Lenaburg Hamilton Ok. Problems with their story:
-True seatbelt failure is VERY rare. In this instance, a sibling was also in a booster, in the opposite seat, and had only minor injuries. No one can be sure that the belt wasn't just unbuckled or something....
-A booster is a very, very safe choice for children over about the age of 5.5 or 6 (able to sit correctly, bones are beginning to develop more strength) who meets the manufacturer's minimum and who the belt fits properly.
-Lower anchors have a maximum that should be followed. (Top tethers are not the same thing, that's a separate issue.)
-The potential for seat misuse is higher with a 5 point than a booster for many caregivers.
-The largest gap in safety for children in America is children over age 5 who are unrestrained or restrained by seatbelt alone. In a vast majority of deaths and injuries, a properly used and fitted booster would have prevented serious injury to these children.
Anne Lenaburg Hamilton So, while I applaud their effort to do good, and I do support "extended" harnessing in that I think a properly used 5 point harness should be used until true booster readiness, and I do not think that a properly used tethered forward-facing... harness is less safe than a booster for older children, I don't support misleading hysteria mongering that makes parents likely to be afraid of a booster, or misuse a 5-point, either. :)
Kids Are 1st Kyle David Miller was 3 years old at the time of the accident and weighed over 40 lbs. It was noted on their web site that Kyle slipped under the seat belt and was then ejected from the vehicle. When a child slips underneath the belt the CHP calls it "submarining". A 5 point harness may have prevented this.