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Child-safety laws may reduce the birth rate

economist.com

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Re: Child-safety laws may reduce the birth rate

#201

Post by dhnajsjdnd »

HarryHirsch wrote: post #152
sneak wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity: why do you ride without a helmet?

Because they do not improve outcomes when a driver runs you over, the speeds involved are simply too high. When you do mountainbiking, a helmet protects you, speeds are lower, but not on the public roads.

I cycle in a city and a know several people who have been hit by cars. None of them went under the car’s wheels. Half of them believe their helmet saved their life. It’s not as though you automatically die upon contact with a car, and of course it helps to have your head protected.

Re: Child-safety laws may reduce the birth rate

#202

Post by bobthepanda »

imron wrote: post #173
bobthepanda wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Helmets are big unwieldy things. They're not easy to carry, and are shaped such that even if you had a bag big enough for one, it would probably crowd out a lot of things that might also go in the bag (e.g. very few bags might hold a 15-in laptop and also a helmet) It is inconvenient to take spontaneous or quick bike rides if you have to lug a helmet around everywhere. Also, there is at least some debate about whethe…

> e.g. very few bags might hold a 15-in laptop and also a helmet I clip the helmet to the backpack straps.

I have a hard time imagining this. To the front or under the bag? Also, wouldn't it just bang into you as you walked?

Re: Child-safety laws may reduce the birth rate

#203

Post by DonHopkins »

1-6 wrote: post #167
DonHopkins wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whatever happened to station wagons, with all those extra flip-up seats in the back bay? This is the new Wagon Queen Family Truckster. This is a damn fine automobile. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzXN5sQ5g-U&ab_channel=Foste...

Actually, they should reboot National Lampoon's vacation with an electric vehicle. That would be funny to watch.

COVID Vacation: The Griswold family rides VR exercise bicycles all around the country!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OOBfeLPqSk&ab_channel=Casan...

Re: Child-safety laws may reduce the birth rate

#204

Post by DonHopkins »

1-6 wrote: post #162
DonHopkins wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whatever happened to station wagons, with all those extra flip-up seats in the back bay? This is the new Wagon Queen Family Truckster. This is a damn fine automobile. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzXN5sQ5g-U&ab_channel=Foste...

Whichever car designer decided to laminate simulated wood on the sides of the car needs to have their car taken away.

Now you can get color LCD panels that simulate simulated laminated wood on the sides of your car, including simulated wear and fading and scratches.

Re: Child-safety laws may reduce the birth rate

#205

Post by bigmattystyles »

1-6 wrote: post #155
irateswami wrote: post #15

This is an actual conversation I had to have with my wife, having a third kid definitely requires a larger vehicle as the vast majority of cars today simply don't work for a family of five. Child car seats are too wide and the backseats of most cars are too narrow, and the price jump to a vehicle that would be able to handle three child car seats at once is enormous. Throw in some dogs, a couple pieces of luggage tha…

Let's not forget the expiration dates on Car Safety Seats. C'mon, really? Seats with Styrofoam may deteriorate eventually but I haven't heard of a casualties due to expired car seats.

To be fair, how do you test this - as a system - effectively. The consequences of failure on a child seat are not like, say, a stand mixer. That being said, I suspect it has more to do with the manufacturer attempting to limit their liability window. It's wasteful right, but in a litigious world, I get it.

Re: Child-safety laws may reduce the birth rate

#206

Post by brewdad »

mhh__ wrote: post #124
irateswami wrote: post #15

This is an actual conversation I had to have with my wife, having a third kid definitely requires a larger vehicle as the vast majority of cars today simply don't work for a family of five. Child car seats are too wide and the backseats of most cars are too narrow, and the price jump to a vehicle that would be able to handle three child car seats at once is enormous. Throw in some dogs, a couple pieces of luggage tha…

Isn't the XC90 basically the textbook school run car?

For people in a certain economic class, yes. For those where it's out of reach financially, there's the Odyssey and the Sienna.

Re: Child-safety laws may reduce the birth rate

#207

Post by bigbubba »

gowld wrote: post #28
kube-system wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was young, this was what minivans were for: families with three kids.

Minivans seat 7-8, which is 6 kids.

If your kids have friends, you'll probably find yourself driving around as many kids as that fairly often. I was raised in a family of five and my parents had a minivan because nothing smaller would have been practical. Even if you can technically squeeze 3 kids into the back of a sedan, good luck going more than 30 minutes away without fights breaking out. And even if your kids are particularly well mannered, they still won't be comfortable. If you're driving a few hours to visit family, do you want to have a headache from fighting kids when you get there? Or kids in sour moods because their sibling wouldn't stop elbowing them?

Re: Child-safety laws may reduce the birth rate

#208

Post by cstejerean »

simmonmt wrote: post #45
ashtonkem wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I absolutely buy the step-wise argument, especially for housing, but I do not buy it for cars. Americans buy way more large SUVs and trucks than the rest of the world, even those with fewer than three kids (or no kids). The idea that car size is a meaningful barrier to the number of children one has, especially compared to housing and education costs, simply does not pass the sniff test to me. From a pure financial s…

It's probably a mistake to put "SUVs and trucks" all in one bucket. Can you even fit a third car seat in a crew cab pickup, assuming two adults in the front? See https://advocacy.consumerreports.org/research/the-rise-of-th... That massive green chunk is for crossovers, which typically have space for two adults and two car seats. Fitting a third means graduating to a full-size SUV (or minivan), which means a significa…

I’ve never tried but I’d be shocked if I couldn’t easily get 3 car seats across into my F350. The rear bench is much wider and can fit 3 adults across comfortably.

Re: Child-safety laws may reduce the birth rate

#209

Post by throwaway0a5e »

spankalee wrote: post #117
mikepurvis wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When my partner and I had our third, the Mazda 5 was our compromise vehicle— still has sliding doors and the overall aesthetics of a minivan, but drives like a car, gets decent gas mileage, and has a footprint comparable to a CUV for the purposes of parking and so-on. We may well go to a full size van at some point, but once the kids are no longer babies, they actually travel somewhat lighter— no stroller, playpen, d…

The Ford Transit Connect is an awesome, just slightly larger version of that if you want to be a bit smaller than a full-sized van or a Metris.

Now if only they sold it with air suspension (or back breaking stiff coils) so it could also replace pickups...

Re: Child-safety laws may reduce the birth rate

#210

Post by snypher »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #148
DonHopkins wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whatever happened to station wagons, with all those extra flip-up seats in the back bay? This is the new Wagon Queen Family Truckster. This is a damn fine automobile. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzXN5sQ5g-U&ab_channel=Foste...

They're called SUVs now and the extra seats are absent so that they can be styled with a sloping back. Priorities.

I'd guess it has more to do with rear-impacy safety and crumple zones - the Tahoe is pretty square and could fit some small seats back there.
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