y2khardtop said:
I guess the bottom line is this: As far as you guys know, the law does require children to be in a restraint AT ALL TIMES in an RV.
No, only when it's going down the road.. Ok, now the serious answer.
Though there are exceptions to most every law,,, This is one where I expcet you won't find many. There is another law involved as well, (or two) one of them is a law of physics
In a motor home... There is a LOT of room between the back seat and the windshield, far more than in a car,,, This means that in a sudden stop situtation the child who is unrestrained will have a lot more time before he hits the windshield.. And though he won't "Build up a head of steam" (his speed will remain fairly constant over the course of the trip) the windshield will have more time to slow down, thus increasing the amount of impact and the amount of damage and greatly reducing the child's odds of walking away.
With a proper restraint... Well with a proper restraint the same law of physics works the other way around... There is more "Crumple zone" and more to crumple behind the child... Thus the maximum force on the child is reduced (though the time it's applied is increased) I suspect this will actually INCREASE the child's already excelent chances of walking away.
Fact, in 25 years of police dispatching I have seen and/or heard of many accidents (Yes a few I saw personally) where a child was in a proper child seat, or even just a seat belt if old enough and the parents were not.
Here is one I layed personal eyes on
A "Chevy Love" size pickup (did not notice the make but that's the size) had rolled, actuall damage to the vehicle was minor and it appeared it could have easily been driven from the scene (Body torqued a bit, mirrors busted, that's about all)
The vehicle was loaded with household goods and the load was not even lost (Well strapped down) There was a child about 10ish in a proper seat belt (no child seat, just a belt) he had minor injuries consistant with flying glass... Kind of like razor nicks, His Father, who had been driving, was not wearing his seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle when it rolled, Thus getting some far more serious (Broken bone type) injuries and a serious case of road rash (Skin torn off by friction as you slide down the pavement)
Mother was also not wearing her belt and was thus also thrown from the vehicle, however in the direciton it was rolling, Thus it rolled over her and crushed her to death.
Score, seat belts 1, Grim reaper 1.5
And folks wonder why I always buckel up
This is but one story, one I witnessed personally.. I have others, some of those I saw close up as well, Some you should not read just after dinner... Trust me on that Proper use of seat belts and/or child restraints greatly increase your odds of doing a walk away. EIGHT to one for belts, Better than that for child seats (Which are miniture survival capsules) and about 1.1 to 1 for air bags (no significant increase) Note, Air bags increase your odds of minor injuries as they blow up in your face (Burns and/or impact damage)