Why are car seats for kids mandatory?

If you’re OK with the nanny-state telling you how to raise your children then please don’t watch this video. I’ve often wondered whether car seats were more hype then true safety devices that made a difference. It’s always annoyed me when I need to take a car seat out of one car to load it into another for the little kids.

This 20 minute of Steven Levitt is interesting and worth watching regardless of how you feel about car seats. The question it leaves me with is on what basis did the government give itself the right to order us by law to place our children in car seats? Was it strictly a way to appear to be doing something for our kids?

What’s next? In-car helmets? Don’t think it can’t happen… I grew up when there was no seat belt law, no helmets for biking, and the government didn’t dare intrude on these personal decisions parents made on how to raise their children safely. Better stop before I get onto a rant….