Before they had car seats?

Question

Before they invented car seats (When were they invented anyway?) what did they do with the baby?
What about if the mother was driving alone with the baby?
What are the statistics on infant injury/mortality before and after they came onto the market?

Answer 1

Before car seats there were small portable beds that you could slip into the back seat of the car, and it was just wide enough that it wouldn't go very far if you had to stop suddenly.

Obviously, we drove a lot more carefully (well, most of us did) when the baby was riding along.

Other times, mothers simply held babies in their laps, unaware of the danger, and not realizing the baby would become a missile in an accident.

Answer 2

You know, I never thought about that. There is no way that a baby could just ride with a seat belt on. I'm pretty sure the mortality rates were high for infants during periods without car seats. I guess people with children in the past just put them in a kind of bassinet or something.

Answer 3

Essentially, more babies died, on a per passenger mile basis. That is the reason laws were enacted to require the use of car seats. (as well as seat and shoulder belts, airbags, crumple zones, safety, shatterproof glass, etc)

I remember my mom coming to some sudden stop, sticking her right arm out to hold me back. Luckily, she never hit anything, because the "mom's arm" safety device really didn't do much in any real impact.

The answer that mothers just drove more carfully because there was a child in the car does not make sense. Does that suggest that mother drive LESS carfully, now that there are carseats?

Answer 4

women didn't drive. Men only. And as the car is a hopped up version of a horse and buggy(or wagon), there was a bench seat(like in pickup trucks). Why didn't women drive? Can you get out to the front of the car and turn the crank in order to start the motor? That is the way it was done. And in later years the baby just laid on the car bench seat. There were not that many cars on the road at that time so you saw few cars.

Answer 5

The reason carseats were developed and introduced was because children were getting hurt and killed during car accidents. They help to save lives and prevent injuries.

By the way: the picture of your child in the carseat is cute, but please put the chest clip at armpit height and tighten the straps. You shouldn't be able to pinch slack horizontally at the shoulders.

Answer 6

CARRY THEM IN THEIR ARM