Just a small addendum to the post on the tragic loss of a three-year-old in upstate New York. In that one I made the frequently-made point that different Amish do things differently, and also that some ways of being Amish are more dangerous on the whole than others. Following that post, Jim Halverson has sent in some photos of an Amish vehicle with child safety seats, which he photographed in northern Indiana.
I haven’t really paid a lot of attention to it before, so I’m not sure how common child safety seats are, though I suspect they are probably fairly common at least among the more progressive folks. Friends of mine in Lancaster County, for example, do have child safety seats and always bring them along when we are driving somewhere with the little ones. I have to say I’m not sure if they use them in the buggy, nor how well they can be secured in a buggy for that matter. In these photos, it looks like a bungee cord is holding at least one of these in place.
Also of interest is the vehicle here. I’m not sure of the name of this particular design, though I’ve been seeing these here and there. It looks rather modern with the metal grate body and the plastic screen. The plastic mini-front seems to be a thing in this community for this type of open vehicle. Here’s another photo of one by Jim, of someone returning from a grocery trip:
Thanks to Jim for the photos.
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Amish Child Safety Seat
In all of my traves and interactions I have not seen Amish using these seats in a buggy. I have seen rheir use when they travel by motor vehicle but that’s probably a law in every state.
Amish and childbirth
I’ve seen a few pregnant Amish ladies at the OBGYN offices. Do Amish women have children at home, or in a hospita?
Seat belts
I am so glad to see this article. This is a step in the right direction to help save lives. Last year I wrote how seat belts scientifically would be very beneficial. Thank the Lord
These vehicles are called a cruiser and are very popular in the northern Indiana area around Lagrange and shipsawana
Thanks Peter! I must admit I’m behind on the terminology for all the various horse-drawn rides Amish use 🙂 I think my friends at Pioneer Equipment in Ohio make these or something like them, they have new models of horse-drawn vehicles it seems every year
Conservative
In my area, the Amish take few precautions on the road, opting only for left-side wheel reflectors.
Amish Buggy Safety Seats
“Where there’s a will there’s a way!” IMO precautions such as this should be taken and would probably prevent many senseless deaths as well as injuries.
However, as I’ve shared before, I do continue to be amazed (and not in a positive way) by how many Amish sincerely seem to believe that everything is “God’s will.” God DID give each of us free will.
“Car seat “
This is an awesome idea! First time I’ve heard of this being done. I hope it catches on with anyone using buggies. Not sure about using bungee cords though because they stretch. Maybe the same strapping that seatbelts are made of and bolted to the floor. I think that’s how they are in a car now. But I drive a really old pickup so not up to date on that. Let’s hope more people use baby seats for safety. It was interesting seeing the inside of a buggy. Thanks for the pictures.
Really hate to see this and so soon after this post, but it turns out an Amish infant died in a crash a day before this went up, in Crawford County, PA:
https://www.goerie.com/story/news/local/2021/09/17/infant-dies-amish-horse-and-buggy-truck-crash-crawford-county/8383455002/
All of the occupants (a mother and four small children, it seems) were thrown from the buggy, and the infant perished.
Not sure how much this helps
I am not sure how much this would actually help in an accident situation. Most of their vehicles (buggies, carts, wagons etc. have so little protection that lots of times I believe they are safer being thrown from the scene, vs being strapped in to take the brunt of the impact. We have discussed this before, it seems the vehicles like a buggy where they sit higher and the vehicle that hits them is lower and throws them out is better than the low pony carts etc where the vehicle hits at seat level.