How She Does It

Nissan presents Bloggin’ Mamas Safety Academy Sponsored

Confession – I am nervous and scared to let my kids drive! It’s the reason I delayed teaching them how to drive! I regret giving in to that fear. However, I now understand that it’s actually something deeper that I didn’t know would effect me.

I was in a car accident when I was 5 years old. Back then there were no seat belt laws or regulations. I was sitting in the front seat of my dad’s Plymouth. When another car ran their red light and T-boned our car, I was lifted up from my seat and hit my head on the windshield. I don’t remember that. I do remember waking up, sitting in the street with a paramedic talking to me.

Some of that fear stirred up as I was teaching my daughters to drive. Whooaaa! Who would have known!? My intention was to learn more about Nissan’s car safety features in hopes to settle my fears. I attended their Safety Academy on Tuesday, July 31, 2018. Thank you Nissan for presenting the Bloggin’ Mamas Safety Academy at the unique Mersea Restaurant on Treasure Island, California! 

We began with a review of safety data including car seat safety with Danielle Bojanzyk, Senior Engineer, Nissan North America and Marlene Mendoza, Purchasing, Nissan North America.

With my childhood experience, I wasn’t too surprised at the statistic that “Latino children 4-8 year old are likely to be injured in a crash and that “children in this age group are also the least likely to be restrained.”

When I thought of my children, I remembered how happy we were when they had out grown their car seats! They could easily jump in the car and buckle themselves. One less thing for us to worry about it right moms? But these statistics are too serious to ignore.

• 2007 Partners for Child Passenger Safety (PCPS) Fact & Trend Report found Latino children die in crashes at rates up to 60% higher than non-Latino
  children and is the number one cause of death and acquired
  disability for Latino children in the U.S.
• In 2012 the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reported Hispanic infants and toddlers are 10 times more likely to be unrestrained

All I could do was think about our own carseats! We have a forward-facing car seat for my son, Titus, who turns 3 years in September and a booster seat for my nephew, Joseph, who turned 8 years this past June. Thankfully, Danielle walked us through the installation of a car seat and how to properly buckle the harness straps.

I had to check myself! I’m embarrassed but watch what happened.

I took the seat out, wiped it down, and tried it again.

If you’re not sure if your car seat is safe, in California, our California Highway Patrol can schedule an appointment to perform a safety check. Then you can make a point to regularly check the car seat for yourself.

Thanks again Nissan for hosting this informative event!