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> Enthusiasm for these laws has not been curbed by studies showing that child car seats are no more effective than seat belts in preventing death or serious inj

> Enthusiasm for these laws has not been curbed by studies showing that child car seats are no more effective than seat belts in preventing death or serious injury for children above age two (e.g. Levitt 2008, Doyle and Levitt 2010). Like many of the other Freakonomics conclusions, this one is at best oversimplified, and at worst actively dangerous. To simply quote it as uncontested fact is ridiculously incompetent. For convenience, I’ll just link to the breathless (but sourced) assessment of the earlier study by a pediatrician at https://thecarseatlady.com/freakonomics-fallacy-an-economist-or-a-pediatrician-who-would-you-trust-to-keep-your-child-safe/ https://thecarseatlady.com/freakonomics-fallacy-an-economist...

DoingIsLearning 4y ago
Without even jumping into the detail of the study, for most toddlers under 3 year old with an average height, a three point seatbelt would have the chest strap crossing at neck height. Irrespective of statistics, common sense would dictate that using your neck region to restrain any human at multiple G's impact, is most definitely not a good idea.
- btilly 4y ago
  Booster seats exist to solve exactly that problem, and are much more reasonable on their width. The problem comes when you have multiple small children that need an actual fixed car seat.
  - D13Fd 4y ago
    This is a really not that much of a problem unless you have a compact sedan. I have 4 kids. You can fit 3 car seats in the back/middle row of many cars. They make narrow seats for this purpose. In my experience it’s harder to find a good narrow booster than a narrow five-point-harness car seat. The problem is that boosters don’t have their own belts and can block the seat belt path if seat spacing is tight.
RajT88 4y ago
> Like many of the other Freakonomics conclusions Yes! Thank you! They are about as bad as Malcolm Gladwell. And yet I know plenty of finance guys who take it as gospel.
ZeroGravitas 4y ago
For those that might be unaware, the cited papers are by the Freakenomics Author Steven Levitt and this is a decades long campaign on this with Ted talks and Op-eds and everything.

DoingIsLearning 4y ago

Without even jumping into the detail of the study, for most toddlers under 3 year old with an average height, a three point seatbelt would have the chest strap crossing at neck height. Irrespective of statistics, common sense would dictate that using your neck region to restrain any human at multiple G's impact, is most definitely not a good idea.

btilly 4y ago
Booster seats exist to solve exactly that problem, and are much more reasonable on their width. The problem comes when you have multiple small children that need an actual fixed car seat.
- D13Fd 4y ago
  This is a really not that much of a problem unless you have a compact sedan. I have 4 kids. You can fit 3 car seats in the back/middle row of many cars. They make narrow seats for this purpose. In my experience it’s harder to find a good narrow booster than a narrow five-point-harness car seat. The problem is that boosters don’t have their own belts and can block the seat belt path if seat spacing is tight.

RajT88 4y ago

> Like many of the other Freakonomics conclusions Yes! Thank you! They are about as bad as Malcolm Gladwell. And yet I know plenty of finance guys who take it as gospel.

ZeroGravitas 4y ago

For those that might be unaware, the cited papers are by the Freakenomics Author Steven Levitt and this is a decades long campaign on this with Ted talks and Op-eds and everything.