Monday, February 05, 2007

When cars and car seats do what they're supposed to do.


Imagine being in Chicago on business and getting this phone call: "Honey, we're both okay, but Sam and I were in a car accident."

Now imagine standing by for an earlier flight, getting on by the skin of your teeth (being the last standby to get on, as a matter of fact, and only because there was one seat available and the two people ahead of you were a couple and didn't want to be split up), getting home and seeing your Explorer looking like the photo above.

That's our Explorer. And that rear passenger door that's so completely caved in? Our eight-month-old son was sitting in his car seat at that door.

Believe it or not, he and Julie had nary a scratch. The door took the hit (a woman in an older Wagoneer T-boned them), buckled and spread out the impact. Sam's Britax car seat completely protected him. The door was pushed in so that it was about three centimeters from the edge of his seat, but got no closer. A few minutes later, he was giggling at the firemen.

Needless to say, Julie was a wreck. She's truly one of the safest, most defensive drivers on the road. It just goes to show that anything can happen, anytime, anywhere.

But the car and the car seat protected them. Potentially, they saved my wife's and little boy's lives.

When we get the Explorer back (been in the shop since December 26, and the damage total is more than $11,000), I'm going to give it a big kiss.

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