Steven Levitt: Are children's carseats necessary?

[lucyloorf]

But you didn't compare Extended Rear Facing childs car seats, they would out perform a seat belt by far!

[ElJefer]

Government fucks most things up.

[littlemas2]

I love this!! I have five kids, and I made this exact argument just yesterday. Now I have an economist who also agrees. In fact, I would suggest that by making the expensive and hard mandated, you actually cause a number of people not to use the solution at all. Therefore, you put more kids at risk by having kids not be buckled at all. On short trips sometimes my 3 year old does not get buckled at all because the time to buckle her doubles the length of the trip.

[DamionCrane]

SEX!!!!

[crudhousefull]

He killed himself in the end lol. No parent will take a 10% chance that their kid would get injured over saving money on a carseat if they can afford it

[BJJMTF]

@crudhousefull I would

[crudhousefull]

@BJJMTF And you're a parent of how many kids?

[jeffgorc]

The data set is skewed because he is only looking at fatal crashes. By only looking at fatal crashes, the more occupants in the car, the less likely any one child is to be the one (or more) that is killed.

A hypothesis could be that larger families are less likely to use car seats for their childen. These two points together would make it look like car seats are not as safe as they actually are.

Looking at survival rates of all crashes would seem to give more accurate results.

[linjapanese77]

what i love bout this guys is that he doesnt claim to be smart... its all in the data, he always go back to the data and not some brilliant "idea"... i like that.

[pjesanna]

This is interesting and provocative talk (and having bunch of car seats myself), but you are not buckling your child just to save life but to prevent horrible injuries which are not in his statistics. Saying "very small" difference is not enough. His proposal of simplifying car seats for children sounds good though.

[pjesanna]

This is interesting and provocative talk, but you are not buckling your child just to save life but to prevent horrible injuries which are not in his statistics.

[KnifeGhost]

@pjesanna

Did you watch the whole thing? He addresses that in the Q&A at the end.  The difference is statistically insignificant.

[BadWithNames123]

the ads on TED are alwayss amazing : ) 

[majik2hanz]

He should study "research". In particular, how often research reaffirms what the funders are seeking and then do a detailed summary of how often non reaffirming studies are publicized. For example, if a pharmaceutical company found in a double negative test that taking nothing results in better outcomes than getting drug, would it be published? Or testing whether the amount of money spent on research and by whom determines the outcome.

[cirosuperiore]

can you really rely on government statistics...come on!

i would not rely on self serving and lazy bureaucrats 

[Wintermutate]

@cirosuperiore

1) How do you know they're lazy?

2) All people have self interest to some extent, but could you explain how it is that this particular bureaucracy has an incentive to doctor the data towards this conclusion?

3) If you don't trust 44,000 pieces of real world data because they've been recorded by human beings, then what would you actually trust? The "feelings" of mothers who are dealing with the guilt of losing a child, or the car seat industry? Please.

[success4111]

they should have let loose a hungry mongroose on stage. i would have laugh trying to keep the mongoose from eatting his legs off

[s0m3w0n2]

dude might have sent some dude out with malaria yo

[tayo58]

Insightful

[dylanlawless1]

Have you ever noticed, when you learn a new fact or phrase it seems to follow you

[hrabrica]

This guy is an idiot >:(

[razm98]

This guy is so wrong.

1)seatbelts are design for adults - size, shape, position. They are not made for childreen - even if a child fit into it, it will not fit good.

2)A 2 year old will not stay in place in the seat just with a normal car 3 point seatbelt. He can easly "escape" out of a normal seatbelt and start playing in the back.

3)You can use your car seatbelts but with the booster seat - so seatbelts will strap the kid in a good way. Is this a conspiracy as well ?

[razm98]

4)This guy only talks about "goverment" and car seat companys conspiration. But let's not forget there are other countries except USA. In Europe there is extensive data and tests about car seats, from Adac, Euroncap and other independent organisations from germany, sweeden, etc.

4)Children ages 2-5 restrained by a seat belt only are 4 times more likely to suffer a head injury compared to those in a child restraint. CHOP Research Institute CPS Issue Report (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia).

[TheLivingStone7]

maybe you're two year old won't sit still but for us responsible parents who raise quality children, they do sit still.

[razm98]

@TheLivingStone7

You are not a responsible parent if you put your 2 yo in a harness design for ADULT height. Toddlers can be in risk of decapitation or slipping from the belt in a frontal crash and no protection whatsoever in a side crash.

By quality you mean vegetative? Because a normal toddler will not sit still for hours at 2 years of life. He will try to develop his skills, to "explore", to play a. Without a carseat he will not even see out the window, or be able to sleep in safety.

[truthadvocate]

@razm98,

Blind allegiance to the status quo and quick to judge others without knowing the details of ones unique situation. You'd make a terrific oppressive bureaucrat.

Oh, and unless a child is in a neck brace, they CAN see out the window without a car seat, even though that has nothing to do with safety.

It's irresponsible to assume what works for you must work for hundreds of millions of people you don't know.

[razm98]

@truthadvocate

In almost every European, they don't see well out the window because the back of the seat and windows are pretty high, also the belt attachment is high as well (neck argument). The windows/seats are made for adults , not for small ones that are 1/4 their height. Don't trust me ? Try to place your 2 yo kid with an adult seatbelt in a VW Golf or Jetta. On the other hand your car seat should fit and give the child exactly the same protection in any car especially if it's an ISOFIX.

[Mishkafofer]

@TheLivingStone7 did you saw how a face of a child hit his knees in that kiddy seat?

[Tapey01]

@razm98 While im not disagreeing with you I will say this. Its does require a closer look. Data can be misleading which may be the case here but when it does seem to indicate something different to the conventional wisdom we should always look at it more closely to see why it is misleading if it is at all, it is just the best way to get to the truth. In the end even if it was the data that was misleading we will have a better idea of why car seats are better which will help us improve them.

[1RadicalOne]

One problem with the videotaped crashes - the dummy in the belt appears to have a much more sudden stop. That is worse than a more gradual one in a high-acceleration situation such as this; it creates a plethora of internal injuries.

[Wintermutate]

@1RadicalOne

On the other hand, because the child in the car seat tends to bounce around a lot more, it creates the possibility of contact with a lot of other objects and surfaces within the car. Either way, the effect on fatality seems to be a wash. Perhaps you're more likely to die of an internal injury one way and from a laceration the other way. Which way would you prefer for your infant to die?

[flexicon1996]

Are we concerned only with deaths, or would we prefer to survive a crash with fewer amputations, comas, or severe injuries as well?

[manyoutooktoomuch]

because, if you're not dead you are (most probably) alive.

[Flakpole]

16:11 ....

That's what she said!

[NikolaiHGS]

Haha!

[valleyfight]

OH i get it it, I'm installing the car seat wrong. It's my fault the car seats you make are useless.

[andrewsurfrider1234]

Steve missed the point! Car seats work well when used correctly. The REAL issue is that 83% (gov data) of car seats are found to be DANGEROUSLY MIS-INSTALLED by the consumer. It is very easy to prove how well car seats work when installed correctly, look at the test data from IIHS and NHTSA. The way you presented your collected information is misleading and dangerous to the public. If a parent stops using a car seat and their child is injured or killed are you responsible?

[chepech]

I grew up in a world without carseats, look at the data form the mid 70s and 80s, nothing has changed, the dead ratio is about the same proportional to the population world. Carseats are as good in saving children as gas masks are for preventing Anthrax.

[csmutz2001]

and the carseats that are built into the car are expensive through the car manufacturer. Simple solution: Keep toddlers rearfacing until they are 35lbs then keep them in a 5pt harness until 4' or 65lbs whichever comes first, and then keep them in a highback booster until they are 4'9" (57") or 100lbs whichever comes first! Problem solved!

[csmutz2001]

ok so keep the 3 year old rearfacing and his head wont hit his knees.... and as for the seatbelt on a 3 year old it doesnt show internal bleeding... There have been 3 year olds that have died from adult seatbelts from accidents they should have been able to walk away from. I wish our children were hard bodied like actual crash dummies, then we wouldnt have to worry aobut car accidents! DUH!

[DAILEYericCaryUSA]

15:15

Very cool story about "dad and pills". This is so cool.

Steve only seeks the truth. We all do what we can.

[nilbud]

This is what happens when idiots apply the wrong methods to data. Economists work with completely artificial models and regard actual data as an aberration.

[tylertyler48]

It makes you think... how many other things have we been convinced that is necessary when it's really not. No more carseats!

[coryhack]

This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. PLEASE PLEASE put your children in carseats! How sad.

[hmsrenown]

Well, PLEASE PLEASE blindly ignore the data available and presented to you! How sad.

[JPRubber2]

impulse and g-forces are critical. A longer deceleration leaves fewer injuries. But, I also hate the whole carseat monopoly. Have 6 kids. Most cars cannot handle 3 carseats across one bench. Side impacts are as bad or worse in carseats, they have hard plastic sides with a tiny layer of foam. Follow the money...

[andrewsurfrider1234]

Data does not support you statement. many car seats reduce side impact injuries by over 40%. That little plastic does a great job to disperse crash energy.

[JPRubber2]

First, a very large fraction of the data is taken and presented in favor of the carseat industry and car insurance companies. Seond, 99% of all people do not have the carseat tight enough to reduce side impace energy, which creates a situation where the seat pivots in 2 directions leaving the child in a terrible position Lastly, if you add up all the money we have spent on these carseats, it is far more than the savings the insurance industry has experienced How did we ever survive without them

[bja6a]

Engineers would also prefer real world data ;-)

[lenats31]

Complicated? We have LATCH and ISOFIX today.

Steve, leave this to doctors, pediatricians, road safety experts and .........CARSEAT MANUFACTORERS.

[ZDWmiamicane]

Come on man! Steve is an MIT educated economist that's written great stuff. What's your beef with economists?

[lenats31]

I can see giant law suits coming his way from parents who believe him. Where is the protection in the very dangerous side crashes? Steve should take a trip to Volvo in Gothenberg in Sweden - LOTS of RAW crash data involving children collected from over 30 years of crash investigations of actual crashes carried out at the scene of the accidents. Do seatbelt fit properly so they won´t cut into childrens necks? and not cut into their stomach ?- properly not

[jsmith5052]

well this must have been a while ago then

[jsmith5052]

we already have that car seat, seat belt flap in our 2005 van

[biglmac]

What is the "caveat" referred to in the caption? Just the fact that he doesn't have data on serious injuries?

[korona3103]

He's deluded because he did a statistical analysis and found that it subverted accepted wisdom? I don't think he is the one that is deluded...

[jeremy837]

He's DELUDED. I hope he doesn't have children.

[matthew45736]

me my bro and my sis all stopped bein put in a car seat after the age of 2..its all an indsutry!!

[storminnorman99]

he does have children.

[sleepypoodle]

I don't know why some orators have the annoying habit of using 10 words when 3 will do, he needs to be more succinct & just get to the point, perhaps he should devote some of his time to studying the correlation between speech patterns & attention spans.

He seems like a decent & bright enough fellow, it's a shame that he presumes his audience to be so slow that he has to labour each point with such tedium, it's so incredibly patronising. I lost the will to live after the first five minutes.

[blacka725]

wow you leave long comments. i lost interest very quickly. you seem like a bright fellow, but you need to be more succinct in your comments.

[matthew45736]

lol

[Febeleh]

@blacka725 In my opinion you, and a ton of other people everywhere, should expand their goldfish-like attention span. If you can't read through a simple 500 character comment, something is wrong. Judging from the fact you can't read a YouTube comment without losing interest, I doubt you've ever read a decent book, or novel. Also, people need to stop this self inflicted ignorance, and try to learn something every once in a long while.

[blacka725]

@Febeleh Haha if you read the comment I was replying to it will become more clear that I was being sarcastic. I was trying to point out how pretentious Sleepypoodle sounded.

And you don't have to worry about me, I read plenty of books. Including Freakonomics and Super Freakonomics!

[Febeleh]

@blacka725 Ah, there I go again making assumptions without proper evidence. I apologize for the misunderstanding. I fully and completely understand the purpose of your comment now. In fact, it was actually pretty funny!

[biglmac]

You "lost the will to live" after the first five minutes? Come on, don't tease me.

I felt almost the same way at the end of your comment.

Any idiot can criticize. When you lecture, you can show us all how fantastic your style is. Until then, leave it to the professionals.

[sleepypoodle]

His father would be struck off the register these days for handing out placebo drugs without informing the patients that they were participating in an experiment, that's outrageous. These poor people were probably genuinely unwell but their body's natural healing just took care of things. Just because there's no cure for a cold doesn't negate the fact that it's a genuine illness, therefore if someone recovers from their disease without intervention doesn't mean they weren't ill to begin with.

[blacka725]

this one too

[shinymcbubbles]

there are so many adults who are paranoid with parenting. There are more and more unemployed people then ever. I recently have received benefits from PA. Everytime I go to the welfare office it is packed.....I think that buying a 200 dollar car seat would be like running through a cornfield backwards!

[superdemon]

Also, simple engineering tells you that the more components/parts you add to a system, the higher the probability that the failure of any one part of the system will result in the failure of the entire system.

This man isn't trying to sell anything. He sounds like he just wants to help save money. I figured at the end he was going to say he lost a child due to a safety seat failure...

[bowflexor]

His Study is seriously flawed. He ignores the fact of the type of injury called whiplash. Most whiplash injuries are reported hours, days and somtimes a few weeks after the crash. His study does not account for that face. In addition, insurance companies go to great lenghs to prevent paying fake injury claims. His study ignores the insurance studies which is far more robust. He also ignores the injuries from the seatbelt, itself which is position incorrectly to the passengers body.

[Thedreamshaperabc]

On the other hand he is a professor and has won several prestigous awards. You (and i) are just lowly Youtube commenters.

Although i my self do study mathematics and economics.

[AdventGuard33]

just because he has been given awards makes him no more superior to anyone else...we are all equal...don't let them brainwash you!

[METMAN92towhoknows]

lol by no means are all the people of the earth equal. people with no skills that live off of other people are obviously not equal to a teacher or a policeman or firefighter. the lowly homeless people are not equal to celebrities and actors.

saying people are equal is ignorant, but taking advantage of people "less equal" than yourself is petty (no saying you have or anything)

just thought i'd say

[AdventGuard33]

A teacher teaching others false wisdom is not equal to that of a lost homeless soul? Wake up kiddie! None of your masters no a goddamn thing! NEITHER DO YOU!

[wormbaby79]

Wow do you really belive that? You think a trained plumber is as equal a surgeon as a trained surgeon? I am not brainwashed but if I need a surgeon I don't randomly pick someone. I choose someone respected by his peers and his customers. If what you claim is true and we are all equal why go to school at all. An illiterate person would be just as equal in his/her book writing ability as an award winning author.

[AdventGuard33]

Why are we talking about skills? Yes everyone has a certain specific skill...so fucking what? The world is still a pile of shit even with all of your specialists....OBVIOUSLY YOUR WORLD DOESN'T WORK! We are all equal in spirit...but I supposed your left brain just can't grasp that...BABY STEPS! rofl....

[wormbaby79]

umm we are talking about skills because you said "because he has been given awards makes him no more superior to anyone else" You doubt what the world calls his skills in the field of economics. You then claim that he is no more skilled an economist than "anyone else" The world can't be that bad if you have the free time to complain on your computer.

[thisisfakethisisfake]

Well done, "wormbaby79". Thanks for putting "AdventGuard33" in his place.

It's comments like yours that rekindle the respectable exchange of ideas TED is known for.

[kizedret]

the data is from the US highway authority NOT his own research, which ignores whiplash. however we can assume that the whiplash between a car seat or a lap&shoulder belt would be the same (as is tested later). if you watch until the end he answers your objection.

the point is economics: the cost-benefit principle, particularly with regard to the marginal cost (MC) vs benefit (MB) of having a carseat at each increased age level (MB stops outweighing the MC as soon as the kids are older than 2).

[superdemon]

No, he goes over injuries with a question from the audience after the talk. You obviously didn't watch the whole video, and now you look like an idiot.

[42sbasearebelongtome]

how is it that something cheap and easy is as good as something complicated and expensive?

Occam's razor. The simplest solution is often the best.

[Haygurlhaygurlhay]

@42sbasearebelongtome He also talks about this a lot in Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics (I forget which one, I think it was super)

[joeverock]

@42sbasearebelongtome

1) that is not Occam's razor

2) it's not necessarily true

[buzzin1975]

@42sbasearebelongtome Occam's razor? Try common sense, which came way before Occam.

[Wintermutate]

@buzzin1975

If such a thing as "common sense" (sense that every one has), and if it were really the answer to any question, then that question would never be asked (because we'd all have the sense to know the answer without asking it).

"Common sense" is a lazy, non answer to any question.

[potatolover44]

i think the message im protraying not from his talk but is to be open-mided and question the always thought to be if there's world full of people saying the same thing and one whose agrueing the exact opposite be mind full that this one is right.

[BoozyBeggar]

I thought of the Indian guy's question at the end real early on. There's only fatal data to go on.

[practicalmagic9]

i am sure you will think me awful, but i think the same people who made insurance MANDATORY for people also made car seats to be mandatory. till nearly the age of 10 or 11! That is when a child is 4'9"! all laws are means for fines (read: ability to tax us over and over!) carseats for infants are great. above that, the other effect is that we are limited by how MANY children can sit in a car, and the car seats are expensive...who is getting rich off this? augh.

[thebeartaxes]

WHO GIVES A FUCK

[guruamit]

Kids can slide out of a seatbelt very easily - he doesnt account for that variable

[BDickert]

He mentions in this book that kids watching videos in the backseat were the "safest" since they were mesmerized and glued to the seat.

[guruamit]

thats great - just have our kids get ADD from a young age and stare at TV!!

[KenMacMillan]

The Government was giving people what they wanted. If people didn't go to the government demanding carseat laws then there wouldn't be laws forcing us to use them.

[sexdrugsRnR]

just more evidence of the stupidity of the gov

[sexdrugsRnR]

the gov is stupid

[jamthehut]

I'm glad someone is tackling child car seats. I've always been suspicious if that industry and they've ruined the development of something more appropriate for children.

[andrewsurfrider1234]

I am a designer for one of the largest car seat manufacturers in the world and I can assure you that current car seats are designed for optimal performance. Until cars change significantly car seats are the way to go.

[kokopelli314]

Its hard to change the beliefs of someone whose income is supported by those beliefs.

Steve Levitt made it quite clear that child car seats were an effective, but complicated and expensive solution for all children but not necessarily the best solution for the older age group. The point being made here is the divide between research and reason when irrational assumptions, fear and greed determine public policy.

[Wintermutate]

@kokopelli314

As we learn more and more each year, policy is a direct extension of lobbying dollars. I don't imagine there's much of a "my child could probably be just as safe for 100 dollars less" lobby to counteract the car seat industry.

[ShakaUVM]

Levitt is so full of himself: a rogue economicist who revolutionized the world!

His most annoying point is, though, when you point out statistical mistakes he makes on his blog, he deletes them.

[PilferMusic]

MVA is not a disease. Think about it.

[studio7manga]

...Analogy...

[PilferMusic]

A poor analogy at best. The topic and information presented is interesting and thought provoking the method of discourse is disjointed and poor.

Recall that an analogy links two this that are similar if death is the similarity then bullets are also a disease. I'm not certain we can make that jump and refer to it as an analogy, perhaps we can go out on a limb and say it is a week metaphor.

[thebeartaxes]

fuck your stupid

[PilferMusic]

I believe you mean "fuck you're stupid" if indeed you are implying that I'm stupid. That would be the proper use the contraction of "you are." Your is used as the possessive case of you, indicating ownership, or belonging to a group, "your girl guide group" or such as stick it you your... well you get the picture.

[PilferMusic]

Ok... I'm over 4 minutes into this and you're annoying me. Get to it.

[morningworm]

"...we can't risk alienating them by testing seatbelts relative to car seats" 9:58

"Eventually one did...under the conditions of unanimity..." 10:05

>>> CALSPAN appears on mdf board at 11:17

>>> CALSPAN appears on mdf board at 12:01

NOW >> Google search CALSPAN

Address: Calspan Corporation | 4455 Genesee Street, Buffalo, NY 14225

"eventually one did... and so we went to BUFFALO NY..."

haha... UPS!!!

[morningworm]

"...we can't risk alienating them by testing seatbelts relative to car seats" 9:58

"Eventually one did...under the conditions of unanimity..." 10:05

>>> CALSPAN appears on mdf board at 11:17

>>> CALSPAN appears on mdf board at 12:01

NOW >> Google search CALSPAN

Address: Calspan Corporation | 4455 Genesee Street, Buffalo, NY 14225

"eventually one did... and so we went to BUFFALO NY..."

[UncleKennybobs]

Christ, I can't listen to him speak, it's like he's sucking something all the time.

[orinocojones]

The government valuing money over truth and safety? Say it aint so.

[JasonSmithThailand]

Was his comment about the crash test company's request for anonymity a joke? The company's logo is clearly visible in the crash test videos.

[nwascorpio]

Volvo has been selling cars, with integrated carseats, for years!

[wmacorlando]

Of course a five point harness built into the seat would be more effective than a bolt on! However, seat belt restraints have a

People, Please, when installing a car seat, tighten down the two lower LATCH straps and also the over the seat one as well as you can - THEN get up on the seat and put all your weight on it and crank down the latch straps. You should not be able to move the seat AT ALL.

Most of his data was prior to the LATCH system in every car manufactured after 2001.

[ndjarnag]

...I wish the date of the talk was listed in the video description.

[jedaqia]

Its july 2005.

[lougeeiam]

ok so after all that car seats are still better?

If people already spent the money to keep their 1 and 2 year old children safe why would they bother taking them out of the car seat if it still IS safer? They already bought the car seat so its not like they're even saving money. This guy needs to find something better to spend his time on.

[supertramp1982]

The fact that he only looks at fatal crashes makes him miss out on all the crashes where a child didn't die and was in a car seat. I'm not convinced..

[michael0845]

Very interesting.

Rather than saying are child seats necessary it could be argued that the statistics show the child seats in use are not very good.

[ridingisasport]

guy should wear a different shirt,it looks funny.

[tooomp]

Dodge made a minivan with car seats built in like the one he showed.

[UncleSam13]

So did Volvo and GM. Of course you have to replace the entire seat after a crash.

[elspoko]

The major flaw in his logic, is that the children themselves are an unpredictable variable. You cannot, and I repeat, you cannot make a child of toddle age, to sit still in his seat. Especially when there is only one adult in the vehicle who is focused on driving. The car seats have the added bonuses of restraining the child in place.

Maybe the data supports the fact that they save an equal amount of children but it does not show the added bonus of restraint.

[Merche74]

Buddy get to the point!

[adrastea99]

His father gave placebos to sick patients? WTF?

Maybe they didnt come back because they thought he did his best for them and failed?

WOW, talk about stupid.

[ShrikeofHyperion]

Or may be they died!

[adrastea99]

I thought doctors had to take a vow to help patients?

[elspoko]

Ya, priests take a vow of chastity and you see how well that goes.

[adrastea99]

I absolutely hate people who make public vows and then break them.

(I would like to point out this is catholic priests, not Buddhist or Orthodox, so I still trust those religions)

[FelixQui]

The record of Buddhist monks in countries where the set up is the same as for Catholic priests is every bit as vile.

I would guess that any similar set up that puts lots of men who are denied sex into positions of authority over the weak will attract scum who abuse those they should protect.

[adrastea99]

Shut up.

This isn't an argument so don't try to make it one.

[elspoko]

What you're failing to see is that, they're all prone to the same vow-breaking. One religon or another isn't immune to the failability of man.

[adrastea99]

What YOU'RE failing to see that nothing is immune to the fallibility of man, not just religion. Teachers, doctors, birthday clowns. So are we going to hate on teachers now?

So stop trying to bring religion into it and result in pissing off a whole bunch of people who have every right to be pissed off at you.

Im sorry to fly off the handle but i really hate people who generalize.

[elspoko]

Who's pissed? You're the dim witted one using big boy caps heh. If teachers are teaching the wrong thing, then hate away. That's the whole point of this video my unintelligent friend.

You question everything, even if some retard says "That can't be possible".

The guy on the video questioned the car seat/seat belt 'disease" and came out with an unexpected answer.

Try and keep up with the rest of the adults in the crowd. Please.

[adrastea99]

Actually I was using big boy shift.

If teachers teach the wrong thing they get fired.

Some things really are impossible, and when a man smarter then both of us says something is impossible, im going to go out on a limb and trust him. (idk what this refers to...)

I told you not to generalize and bring religion into something very secular and now you're throwing a temper tantrum. Try and keep up with the rest of the adults in the crowd. Please.

[elspoko]

No one brought up religion specifically. I was using it as a tool to show how "ultimate impossibilities" really aren't possible when it comes to humans: ie Vows being kept sacred, hypocratic or religious.

Who's the smarter man you're speaking of? Just curious. I hope you're not referring to the man who's speaking on this vid. I've explained on other comments why his logic fails.

For the record, you have to generalize when speaking of "raw data". That's kind of the whole point.

[adrastea99]

"they're all prone to the same vow-breaking. One religon or another isn't immune to the failability of man."

"Who's the smarter man you're speaking of?" Its an expression, get used to them.

"For the record, you have to generalize when speaking of "raw data". That's kind of the whole point."

Not to the point of including religion in a study about car seats.

"I told you not to generalize and bring religion into something very secular"

[PilferMusic]

or they died

[adrastea99]

shrikeofhyperion said "Or may be they died!" too

probably so

[adrastea99]

I hate that he talks about simplicity and economy when it comes to child seats.

Safety first.

All I got from this is we need better child seats.

If you want to put a seat belt on your baby... good luck, I'm sticking with child seats.

He calls controlled experiments a more imperfect science then reality? There are millions of other events occurring in reality which could randomly affect data, maybe this guy isn't that smart (especially for insulting other scientists).

[puffyplutometer]

ADRASTEA99

Mankind is trying to copy nature in labs, insulating and refabricating some spesific vectors of movment in a crash. The other random events are called real life and that's where I live. Real life affects data every day.

[adrastea99]

OK, you try getting accurate results in real life.

There are billions of factors.

I suggest you look up chaos theory.

Real life = a mother who forgets to lock up the kid properly. So how is that the fault of the child seat?

The child seat is an object, a well designed object, that will protect your baby better then a seat belt or nothing. IF YOU USE IT RIGHT.

[Hazetha]

So all child fatalities in car accidents are caused by mothers not using the child seat properly..? Thousands of small children dead.. Nah, either the child seats are too complicated, or they are not good enough. Meaning something should be done.

[adrastea99]

What does it matter if a certain # die, statistically that doesn't make sense.

You have to count the ones that survived and then correlate the two.

[puffyplutometer]

My comment included chaos theory. Nature does that better then a lab. For side impacts I recon car seats are better, but the horisontal positioning of the body in a car seat does the neck worse then a more upright position.(if the child doesn't have the back against the negative G direction.) So decide if you're going to ram ppl with the front of the car,or if some drunk driver is going to ram you from the behind on the next red light before yod decide what direction to put the seat in. 500?????

[adrastea99]

Horizontal? WTF kind of child seats are you using?

[neotoy]

Of course all this could be avoided if cars and roads themselves were made safer, or replaced by something better.

[watzupdawg]

Mercedes already make rear seats for cars with integrated boosters to raise the height of the child. The idea is not new but the uptake is really slow because it hardly gets ordered for new cars. Glass should also be coated with a clear film to prevent eye injury. The child seat needs to recline more but that would cause other problems.

[cm5783]

Love the Tedtalks :)!

[OMGLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL]

This guy is very undirect, in a good way :D

[MrFrankBullitt]

Is he writing another book?!

[kittykattykoo]

my simple and cheap acne cure works better than the expensive and complicated one. :D

[markberry555]

Wow, I love these videos. So great!!! :-)

[CheezMonsterCrazy]

This one kind of bored me. :P

[tobyw87]

Bloody hell almost 5 minutes of hypothetical conversation. I almost strangled myself.

[Derikooo]

I think that there is a fair chance that his father's patients may have died.

[BriskAxe]

LISP.

[baronmorris]

but what about non-fatal injuries? Are the car-seat injuries less severe (in which case, to minimize injury, car-seats would still be optimal).

interesting talk. :-D

peace

obama!!

[ForceUser]

Ron Paul :D

Nah but I think more research should be put into this too, plus I always hated carseats as a child. They were always too tight and didn't feel like they did anything except bother me.

[tyrbolo]

aircraft have a better restraint system called

a shoulder harness plus an inertia reel.

[flamingtoady]

Interesting.