Why don’t all minivans have five point harnesses? I mean seriously, isn’t the extra safety worth it? Nascar drivers are in a five point harness. Why not my children? Hell why not all car passengers?

Yesterday, we realized that the seat belts in the back of our Town and Country Minivan weren’t “locking” properly. Or so I thought. You know how shoulder straps usually lock when you pull them very fast? Mine in the back were not. Well I about freaked out.

Today I spent way too many hours at MULTIPLE dealerships trying to figure out what is going on. Is this a problem? Are the belts working to specifications? You wouldn’t believe how hard it was to get people to even give a rip. To make a long story short, the guy told me that I could recreate the “lock” on the front seats because they want the driver to maintain control of the car. But in the back seats, the system would happen on “impact”. You can’t really recreate it unless you want to go fast and then do a sudden stop so the little balance thingie is triggered in the seat belts and they lock up.

So I looked this guy dead in the eye and said: “So what you are telling me is that you can’t test the very belts that hold my CHILDREN? That you want me to simply take your word for it, that everything is working even though it has different behavior then the ones we know that work and simply wait and see that this “different system” will work if I am in a car crash”.

He sheepishly looked at me and said “Yeah”.

Maybe I should I blog this as my “act of compassion” for Jay’s Blogging for Books. Cause seriously, it was an act of compassion that I didn’t wring this poor slob’s neck.

So even though I didn’t get the backseat figured out, I did learn that my car seat in the middle bucket seat wasn’t installed properly and that there is an extra latch that needs to be attached to the shoulder strap to hold it in a high impact crash. This cute little latch was attached to the back of the seat and I was nothing short of amazed it was still there! Makes me sick to think I didn’t have it installed right all these years. And this knowledge still doesn’t make me feel better about my 80 lb seven year old using the shoulder strap in the back seat. That problem remains.

So gentle readers– I’m irked. I did go and try out a bunch of other minivans and it seems mine works the same way as other Chrysler and Dodge minivans. So those of you with other vans, can you please comment on the brand, year and type of van and let me know if your back seat shoulder straps “lock” if they are pulled hard and fast without you having to recreate an accident? Let’s just do an informal little poll!

I’ll then use this information to write a nice little letter to Chrysler and perhaps the media. Mean while, I’m doing research to figure out just how safe my seven year old is in the back and what steps I can take to make sure she’s as safe as possible.

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