Be honest. Despite your best efforts, it can be hard to keep your car clean - especially when you have small children in tow. Inevitably you end up with books, toys, tissue boxes, diaper bags, etc. cluttering up the back seat. Unfortunately, any of these items could potentially become a projectile in the event of a crash.A projectile is anything that might have the ability to come loose or move freely in the car in a crash, with the potential to strike the driver or other passengers. Examples include: mirrors placed on the seat back in front of a rear-facing child, pull down window shades, DVD players, sporting equipment, booster seats, etc.There is a pretty simple formula that we teach car seat technicians to help explain crash forces: weight x speed = force. This is a good, general estimate to help explain the severity of the situation. As an example, if you have an older child that uses a booster seat, chances are you haven't thought about fastening the booster seat into the vehicle with the seat belt when the child is not using it. Let's say that booster seat weighs about 5 pounds. Even in a low speed crash - 30 miles per hour - using the formula above as a guide, during that crash the unrestrained booster seat will now move towards the point of impact with approximately 150 pounds of force! Again, this is a rough estimate just to illustrate the point.There are some options for helping to limit the threat of projectiles in your car: buckling up unoccupied booster seats, storing items (like bags and purses) on the floorboard of the vehicle or using cargo nets or shields in the back of SUVs. There are also sunshades that come as window-clings rather than the shades with suction cups and metal bars. If you are entertaining a small child, look for soft options, such as stuffed animals or soft covered books.Via Evenflo
