On August 30, 2008, Joel and his mother were involved in a front car crash. Joel, at 18 mos & 33lbs, was in his front facing car seat. And still..broke his neck Why?
 
   Click here
      to view
  Joel's video

This website will
touch on what
happened during
that accident. But more importantly, what was learned from this tragic event, and what other parents may want to know to prevent it!!  The benefits of extended rear facing your child.

A few days following the crash, "grandpa" posted the story on a few car seat safety blogs, with hundreds of replies to his story. That response inspired this website & video  to be created.

The original blogs can be found at:
               (click on either to view the story)
Car-Seat.org   and  Carseatdata.org
 




The number of people that visited this site, since 12/7/08
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This website discusses
rear facing vs front facing * car seat safety * extended rear facing beyond 12 mos / 20 lbs * children in car seats and crash tests
Turning a child front facing
is not "mandatory" at
12 mos / 20 lbs!!

Contrary to popular belief....
it is not recommended by NHTSA or AAP!!
2
** AAP News  April 2009 **      Keep your toddler in a rear-facing car seat until age 2 (not 1)

**NEWS ** April 25, 2009

Volvo introduces
rear facing car seats to accomodate children up to 6 yrs old!!

But NHTSA bans it's sales in USA!!
(read it here)


MSN REPORTS
NEW STUDY

REAR FACING OLDER CHILDREN IS SAFER
( CLICK HERE)

" A review of US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data on crashes between 1998 and 2003 involving 870 children concluded that rear-facing seats were better at protecting kids up to 23 months across all types of accidents."   source: MSN.COM   6/11/2009


When will NHTSA educate the public of the increased risks of front facing??
Updated : 10/26/2009
Questions ?
"What about my child's legs?"
"My child is miserable rear-facing."
( click here)

**NEW**  JULY 9, 2009 ** Radian Car Seat
Rear-Facing Weight Limits Increased To 40 Lbs.
( read it here)
October 13, 2009 ** Joel's surgery..

13 months after the accident, Joel had shoulder surgery today to repair damaged nerves in his right shoulder (brachial plexus injury). After a 4 hour surgery the doctors "poked" his arm, while still sedated, and it flinched........which is a great sign!! More updates will follow . Be sure to check back on    "Joels Progress" page.

Thanks to everyone for the emails of concern,
and the prayers!!
** AAP News 4/6/09 **

Keep your toddler
in a rear-facing car seat
until age 2 (not 1)
(read it here)

8 weeks after the accident
10/13/2009

Rear-facing
child
in a "rear end" collision?
(read it here)

10/25/2009