# Baby in a Convertible **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 12, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135 "2009-05-12T03:35:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/81 "2009-05-13T18:12:17Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Will this do? > > [http://www.azearprotection.com/mc\_info.htm](http://www.azearprotection.com/mc_info.htm) Since it’s a company that makes their money selling people ear protection gear, probably not, since they limit their own cites to vague things like “several research studies.” ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/82 "2009-05-13T18:13:51Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Will this do? > > [http://www.azearprotection.com/mc\_info.htm](http://www.azearprotection.com/mc_info.htm) Out of curiosity (having never had a convertible) how does this correlate to the cabin of a convertible car? I would think that the windshield displaces the airflow to a certain extent. Also, doesn’t it make more of a difference when you keep the side windows up? What similar protection does the average motorcyclist have? ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/83 "2009-05-13T19:26:53Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > She’s the kid’s nanny. It’s her JOB to worry about the kid. It is her job to worry about the kid when the parents are not around. Once the kid is back in parental custody, it not her job. (feel free to ALLCAPS any word that you think will make me right) ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/84 "2009-05-13T20:05:55Z")
I have so many horror stories that I see all the time at my carwash with people (usually African Americans, not sure why) that have little children in the back without any types of restraints _at all_. And a lot of times these same people have open containers of alcohol in the car, and/or the car reeks like weed. I have called the police on some of the more egregious offenders. It makes my blood boil that people can be so willfully ignorant of their children’s safety like that. I see this literally a few times a week. I don’t understand it. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/85 "2009-05-13T20:59:49Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > (usually African Americans, not sure why) And the melanin content of their skin is relevant becaaaaaaause… ? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/86 "2009-05-13T23:06:16Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > Out of curiosity (having never had a convertible) how does this correlate to the cabin of a convertible car? I would think that the windshield displaces the airflow to a certain extent. Also, doesn’t it make more of a difference when you keep the side windows up? What similar protection does the average motorcyclist have? Exactly. On a convertible with the windows rolled up the only wind coming to the passengers is from behind. That’s why many convertibles have these rear wind deflectors: [http://www.calmuscleparts.com/store/images/96L346std.jpg](http://www.calmuscleparts.com/store/images/96L346std.jpg) And that’s when you reach highway speeds, at lower speeds rear wind is minimal. And there is some extra noise but it’s nothing like **mswas** suggests. On a motorcycle there’s a lot of noise because the wind hits your helmet directly. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/87 "2009-05-14T00:14:51Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > And the melanin content of their skin is relevant becaaaaaaause… ? :rolleyes: Because of the issue of convertibles and exposure to sun? ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/88 "2009-05-14T00:52:16Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > well if they cant survive a minor accident in a non convertible, then they cant survive it in the convertible. Makes no difference what they are in. So you might as well forbid babies in all cars by that little idea. > > Realistically? I would bet that the supposed deaths in ‘minor’ accidents are more or less automotive [shaken baby](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaken_baby_syndrome) and would happen convertible or hardtop. > > Though to be perfectly blunt, my brother and I were raised in the bad old days before seat belts, air bags, I always sat in front with my mother, my brother and I split the back seat and frequently on long trips I laid on the back dash of a huge chrysler looking out at the other traffic … and was known to have sat unstrapped in to anything in the back of a pickup truck. Everybody I knew didnt have seatbelts or airbags, kids sat wherever the parents told them. We managed to survive. I was specifically referring to minor accidents in two-seaters/convertibles. I was raised during the same time period. Lots of people survived, lots of people didn’t. Back in those days, women smoked and drank while they were pregnant…there are tons of examples like that, but they don’t really prove a point. We’re smarter and have learned more since then. Should things be perpetuated just because “most” people survived? Sorry, carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/89 "2009-05-14T02:32:38Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > **Brown Eyed Girl** I would just like to note that humans lived for tens of thousands of years without UV protective clothing and somehow managed to survive. They weren’t, however, dealing with [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_depletion). ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/90 "2009-05-14T02:37:43Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > And the melanin content of their skin is relevant becaaaaaaause… ? :rolleyes: Hey idiot, it’s not relevant other than to observe that inner-city African American women exhibit this behavior? I’m certainly not trying to play a race card here, but it’s WHAT I SEE. Should I lie and just say “people” and not include that qualifier of “African Americans” even though they are the ones most responsible for what I see? Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/91 "2009-05-14T03:26:45Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Hey idiot, it’s not relevant other than to observe that inner-city African American women exhibit this behavior? I’m certainly not trying to play a race card here, but it’s WHAT I SEE. Should I lie and just say “people” and not include that qualifier of “African Americans” even though they are the ones most responsible for what I see? > > Jesus. African Americans aren’t people? ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/92 "2009-05-14T04:22:23Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > Out of curiosity (having never had a convertible) how does this correlate to the cabin of a convertible car? I would think that the windshield displaces the airflow to a certain extent. Also, doesn’t it make more of a difference when you keep the side windows up? What similar protection does the average motorcyclist have? FTW I have driven one of [these](http://digiads.com.au/car-news/latest-VOLVO-news/Volvo_C70_20060502.html) with the top down at 75 and been able to carry on a cell conversation without having the volume on the phone maxed. Not as quite as a sedan, but nowhere near as loud as many common exposures. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/93 "2009-05-14T04:27:37Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > African Americans aren’t people? Well played, artful dodger. Of course that’s what I meant, and now that I am truly exposed for the racist asshole I tried to hide I was, I will now hang my head in shame. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/94 "2009-05-14T04:57:36Z")
> [@FGIE](#): > > Hey idiot Oops. A little forum confusion? > [@FGIE](#): > > I’m certainly not trying to play a race card here, but it’s WHAT I SEE. Should I lie and just say “people” and not include that qualifier of “African Americans” even though they are the ones most responsible for what I see? ??? 😕 How would that be lying? This is a thread about parents not behaving responsibly about children in cars, and you have some anecdotal evidence to share about parents not behaving responsibly about children in cars. In what way would it become a “lie” if you didn’t mention the parents’ race? > [@FGIE](#): > > Of course that’s what I meant, and now that I am truly exposed for the racist asshole I tried to hide I was, I will now hang my head in shame. I’m not sure you’re doing yourself any favors here. Personally, I don’t think that bringing up race tangentially in a discussion that’s not about race necessarily makes one a racist. But unfortunately, being defensive, aggressive, hostile and insulting when somebody questions an apparently irrelevant racial reference does seem to correlate with racist tendencies. If you weren’t looking like a racist when you mentioned that most of the irresponsible parents you see at the car wash seem to be African-American, you’re kind of making some headway in that direction now. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/95 "2009-05-14T05:02:14Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Well played, artful dodger. Of course that’s what I meant, and now that I am truly exposed for the racist asshole I tried to hide I was, I will now hang my head in shame. Victory is mine! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135/96 "2009-05-14T14:37:46Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Hey idiot, it’s not relevant other than to observe that inner-city African American women exhibit this behavior? [Moderator Warning] As I am sure you are aware, insults are not permitted in GQ. Don’t do this again (especially since you have previous warnings for the same offense.) Since quite a bit of factual information has already been presented here, and since this thread seems to be veering off into other side issues, I’m going to close it. Those who are interested in continuing this discussion may do so in Great Debates (or the Pit, if you prefer) with a link to this one. Colibri General Questions Moderator [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-in-a-convertible/496135.md?page=4)