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That book should never have been published with that chapter. The authors allegedly use boosters and car seats for their own kids, even after writing that chapt

That book should never have been published with that chapter. The authors allegedly use boosters and car seats for their own kids, even after writing that chapter - let that sink in for a while... The response[1] from actual medical professionals, and particularly this quote is interesting > As pediatricians, scientists and leaders of the world's largest study on children in crashes, we think that overinterpretation of findings from a single source of data led Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt (July 10) to claim that child safety seats are no more effective than seat belts for 2- to 6-year-olds. They examined children in fatal crashes (about 1,200 per year) while ignoring the equally informative data on those in nonfatal crashes (450,000 per year). Our research, which includes over 25,000 in-depth interviews and over 800 crash investigations, consistently shows that child safety seats and booster seats significantly lower the risk of serious injury compared to seat belts alone. Their conclusions stand in stark contrast to the existing body of scientific data that support current child restraint recommendations, and are, in our opinion, irresponsible and dangerous. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/24/magazine/letters.html https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/24/magazine/letters.html

cptskippy 7y ago
> The authors allegedly use boosters and car seats for their own kids, even after writing that chapter - let that sink in for a while... Because it's the law and you run afoul of child endangerment laws if you don't. After watching Levitt's TED talk and reading the remarks from Durbin and Winston, I tried to find some published research about the matter and didn't have much luck. Levitt was very specific about what they looked at and how the conduced their research. Their conclusion was that it warranted further research. Durbin and Winston's comments were very general and came off as very "trust us". I'm wondering if anyone else might have a link to one of their actual studies? I like the suggest Levitt made of automakers integrating 5 point child harnesses into backseats. This seems like such an obvious improvement that could be an upgrade option when purchasing a new vehicle.
- hvidgaard 7y ago
  I do not dispute that 5 point harnesses are safer, but have you ever been strapped in one? You're more or less unable to move and are just completely fixated. At some point we should think about the effect of this, as it would likely lead to less children being strapped in.
georgeecollins 7y ago
Also, its not like they are saying child seats are ineffective. They are just saying the effects are from many things. Look, I read that and drove my kids around in car seats. It's amazing how hostile people are to that chapter. It's just a book talking about statistics, I really doubt it influenced anyone's behavior
- hvidgaard 7y ago
  I'm 100% certain that it has lead people to take their children out of car seats as soon as they legally could, instead of letting them sit in it until they grew out of it. What that chapter should say, is that if you're ever in an accident fatal for your child, it doesn't matter if it used a seat or not. It completely neglect to say that for non fatal accidents, the vast majority, the car seats do make a difference.

cptskippy 7y ago

> The authors allegedly use boosters and car seats for their own kids, even after writing that chapter - let that sink in for a while... Because it's the law and you run afoul of child endangerment laws if you don't. After watching Levitt's TED talk and reading the remarks from Durbin and Winston, I tried to find some published research about the matter and didn't have much luck. Levitt was very specific about what they looked at and how the conduced their research. Their conclusion was that it warranted further research. Durbin and Winston's comments were very general and came off as very "trust us". I'm wondering if anyone else might have a link to one of their actual studies? I like the suggest Levitt made of automakers integrating 5 point child harnesses into backseats. This seems like such an obvious improvement that could be an upgrade option when purchasing a new vehicle.

hvidgaard 7y ago
I do not dispute that 5 point harnesses are safer, but have you ever been strapped in one? You're more or less unable to move and are just completely fixated. At some point we should think about the effect of this, as it would likely lead to less children being strapped in.

georgeecollins 7y ago

Also, its not like they are saying child seats are ineffective. They are just saying the effects are from many things. Look, I read that and drove my kids around in car seats. It's amazing how hostile people are to that chapter. It's just a book talking about statistics, I really doubt it influenced anyone's behavior

hvidgaard 7y ago
I'm 100% certain that it has lead people to take their children out of car seats as soon as they legally could, instead of letting them sit in it until they grew out of it. What that chapter should say, is that if you're ever in an accident fatal for your child, it doesn't matter if it used a seat or not. It completely neglect to say that for non fatal accidents, the vast majority, the car seats do make a difference.