No Child Carseat = Child Endangerment = Call to Police?

[S.T.A.C.E.Y]

I was reading the thread "Vent: I absolutely HATE stupidity! Not ignorance.....STUPIDITY!!" and it got me thinking about a potential topic for one of my nursing classes:

Should there be more encouragement for nurses to contact police if they feel a parent may be transporting a child from the hospital/clinic unsafely?

What are your thoughts on the subject? I'm just brainstorming ideas in my head right now, and would like to hear what you think are the pros and cons of collaborating with your local police department to encourage this practice.

[bethin]

That law isn't there to protect children, it's there to generate revenue. All you would be doing is padding the pockets of the city.

I know in my county that fines collected are not put into a general county/city fund. If you're pulled over for a DUI and pay the fine then that money is put into a fund to pay for more officers to pull over these offenders..................and since when is that a bad thing? If this isn't the case where you live I would suggest contacting your mayor and city council.

I've noticed in my town that the majority of kids I see that are not restrained are riding in high end vehicles. I'm talking Audis, Lexus, Mercedes, and Beemers. You can't tell me you can afford a $50,000+ luxury vehicle and not afford to buy a corificeat.

Just last week I saw a small child (small enough to still be in diapers) hanging out of the window in the backseat of a Lexus SUV. Hanging out enough that I could see that she was still wearing diapers and they had Elmo on the front. :angryfire

[Jo Dirt]

I know in my county that fines collected are not put into a general county/city fund. If you're pulled over for a DUI and pay the fine then that money is put into a fund to pay for more officers to pull over these offenders..................and since when is that a bad thing? If this isn't the case where you live I would suggest contacting your mayor and city council.

I've noticed in my town that the majority of kids I see that are not restrained are riding in high end vehicles. I'm talking Audis, Lexus, Mercedes, and Beemers. You can't tell me you can afford a $50,000+ luxury vehicle and not afford to buy a corificeat.

Just last week I saw a small child (small enough to still be in diapers) hanging out of the window in the backseat of a Lexus SUV. Hanging out enough that I could see that she was still wearing diapers and they had Elmo on the front. :angryfire

Okay, okay, I'm not too proud to admit when I've made shoot from the hip remark that wasn't too appropriate. In retrospect, I would have worded it differently. In this instance, the child restraint laws are a good thing, but at the same time, when you see someone doing something stupid, the answer is not to always run to the cops.

But at the same time I know some people (now these weren't bad people) but their kids were out of their car seats jumping all over the car and they were pulled over. They didn't get out of the fine. It was something like $150 or $200 they had to pay and had to go to a class on top of that.

But I won't be bullied into silence and the city still has to generate revenue from somewhere.

[HeartsOpenWide, RN]

Are the police called when a person come in for a drug over dose? My friend found her baby barley breathing once and rushed him to the ERl without a car seat, she was sick too, sat with him on her lap while husband drove, car seat was in another car that was blocked, hospital only one mile from the house. I think her situation is different. (Of couse they bought the baby back home in a car seat)

[purple1953reading]

the laws in our state have recently passed to say that all children under 80 pounds, 8 years old, must be in a corificeat.These are furnished by the fire dept. TO ANYBODY, who comes and asks. They would like for the need to be there, in that you could not afford one otherwise, but never say anything to anyone about it. Babies are not dismissed from Nsy, without one, Nurse must see and document. How about Pes. Do they have to see children under 2, 4, or 8 or whatever age your law says. We don'thave a pediatrics floor,so I am not familiar with that one.I do know that EVERY child in primary school through third grade should not be in corificeat by law. THEY DEFINITELY are not. In additon, everybody points out that school buses don't have them.

I have never put one of my children, oldest is 30, 36, 17, 16,and 14, in the car without a car seat. Won't even drive my grandson next door. IF they are always put in one from birth on. THey expect it. I have seen police give tickets to kids parked in gas station,not in corificeat, parent inside, looking out window. TICKET was for parent leaving child in car. ANOTHER pet peeve of mine. I would not call police, but would explain laws, and purpose of protecting the child.In addition, it seems like DFS provides these folks with housing, utilities, food stamps, ins. , WIC,and they might as well add car seats, could prevent injury or death. I actually heard a woman complain the other day because WIC did not provide MEAT.

Car seat laws, like seatbelt laws are in place to save lives!!!.

[jojotoo, RN]

But at the same time I know some people (now these weren't bad people) but their kids were out of their car seats jumping all over the car and they were pulled over. They didn't get out of the fine. It was something like $150 or $200 they had to pay and had to go to a class on top of that.

But I won't be bullied into silence and the city still has to generate revenue from somewhere.

Motorcycle Mama - I don't want it to seem as if you're being picked on here, because I know that's not my intent. I'm not sure of all your nursing experience, so I don't know if you've ever seen an unrestrained child that has been thrown from a car. I have. We don't usually have to spend much time with them in the ER because almost all of them come in dead. Horrific injuries and dead. And these kids had parents that weren't "bad people". Parents that may have been distracted, tired, or just plain lazy. But not "bad people". Those kids are still dead. Kids that depended on their parents to protect them. It's a very small inconvenience for parents to make sure their kids are restrained. And while they're at it, to buckle themselves in also, if not for themselves, then for their kids.

I don't think you'll find anybody that's ever done any Trauma in disagreement with me.

[jojotoo, RN]

Are the police called when a person come in for a drug over dose?

In LA, police do respond to the hospital for any OD brought in by rescue.

[bethin]

But I won't be bullied into silence and the city still has to generate revenue from somewhere.

Have you been reading my siggy line? :)

Revenue is generated through fines, taxes, grants, etc. I know our fire dept received a grant from the state along with a grant to fix a major road. Most cities are not rich and live paycheck to paycheck. If you still have questions, sit in on a council meeting and ask questions.

[TazziRN, RN]

Motorcycle Mama - I don't want it to seem as if you're being picked on here, because I know that's not my intent. I'm not sure of all your nursing experience, so I don't know if you've ever seen an unrestrained child that has been thrown from a car. I have. We don't usually have to spend much time with them in the ER because almost all of them come in dead. Horrific injuries and dead. And these kids had parents that weren't "bad people". Parents that may have been distracted, tired, or just plain lazy. But not "bad people". Those kids are still dead. Kids that depended on their parents to protect them. It's a very small inconvenience for parents to make sure their kids are restrained. And while they're at it, to buckle themselves in also, if not for themselves, then for their kids.

I don't think you'll find anybody that's ever done any Trauma in disagreement with me.

AMEN!!!

Just last year I had a 3-yr-old boy brought in. Mom was pulling out of a parking lot into the street and got t-boned. Her son was thrown out the open side window. He had nothing but scratches and bruises, but she was presented with a citation because he was sitting in his corificeat but completely unrestrained! Her excuse? "We were only going a few blocks."

Ironically, that very same day the officer that cited this mother had also checked out the parking lot of the town daycare center and found quite a few cars without corificeats. He waited and watched, and he saw parents coming out with toddlers and driving off with the kids unrestrained. He pulled them over and cited them.

The saddest unrestrained pedi case I was involved in: I came to work one day and got report on a family of 6 that had been brought in after being t-boned....five adults and a 2-yr-old. The adults were all restrained and had very minor injuries. The toddler was being held on someone's lap because there was no room for the corificeat, and she was thrown out. She survived but had major head injuries and was in a vegetative state.

Yeah.......the cops involved in these two cases were only looking for revenue.

[puggymae]

At our hospital the patients are instructed in the OB/GYN office that they will have to have a car seat to take the baby home. After delivery they are again reminded that it is the law that the baby must be in a car seat. Period.

In 10 years I have never seen anyone who wasn't able to come up with a car seat - even a borrowed one.

My pet peeve is people who let kids ride in the back of a pick-up truck so they can get slung out onto the road.

[teeituptom, BSN, RN]

Only one of my 7 children went home from the hospital in a car seat. It was required untill then. More often than not our children when they were little rode oon their mothers or my lap. And personally today. If I see a child without a car seat, I feel its the parents choice.

Whatever happened to freedom of choice in this country.

A lot of our freedoms went out the window with cellphones, cam recorders etc.

Too many people pay attention to what others do to make their lives seem worth while, how sad is that.

[teeituptom, BSN, RN]

At our hospital the patients are instructed in the OB/GYN office that they will have to have a car seat to take the baby home. After delivery they are again reminded that it is the law that the baby must be in a car seat. Period.

In 10 years I have never seen anyone who wasn't able to come up with a car seat - even a borrowed one.

My pet peeve is people who let kids ride in the back of a pick-up truck so they can get slung out onto the road.

That reminds of an old aggie joke

[pannie]

I was director of a non-profit agency and applied for a grant to provide car seats. I was called by hospital staff if the parents didn't have a car seat to take the baby home. Our Fire/EMS would pick up the car seat and go to the hospital and show the parents how to correctly install the seat. It worked well since we have multiple fire/ems stations. The dispatcher could tell me which station wasn't busy.