We're all fine....but

We're all fine. Have to start with that.

My neighbor/friend Carolyn and I and our two boys were going to go skiing
today. Two miles before we got there, we skidded, swerved, skidded, and
ended up sliding off the road and 137 feet down the side of a mountain
(very close to vertical, no exaggeration), rolling once or twice and
landing upside down hanging by our seatbelts. Luckily there was a ton of
snow so it slowed us down a bit and the slide was very soft for going over
a cliff.

We were going slow (less than 30) uphill; the road seemed fine (wet and
slushy) and there must have been ice but the people behind us,who stopped
abruptly when they saw us go over, didn't notice any loss of traction. We
think the tires were bad or something went wrong with the 4 wheel drive.

No-one was even hurt which was pretty miraculous. The children both had
booster seats (despite being way over the age requirements for
Colorado). Somehow the ski boots which ended up in the front on the
windshield didn't whack anyone. We were able to unbuckle everyone from the
"ceiling" and the power windows still worked and one door opened. The many
people who stopped were incredible and formed a chain up the steep side of
the hill and got us up and into a warm car. Sorting it out took most
the rest of the day but we are all safe and sound at home.

I'm so thankful that I chose to put in the booster seat even though Alex is
almost at its weight limit (otherwise he likely would have slipped down
under until the seatbelt was on his belly, since his legs aren't long
enough for SUV seats), that I anchored the booster in, that we stopped to
put up Ben's headrest to the right height, that we made Ben sit up straight
instead of laying down for a nap. I'm thankful that someone saw it (and
that the first thing the witness told us after finding out we were OK was
that the car was stable and wouldn't go anywhere). I guess I have
something to put in our holiday letters now....

Please, everyone, don't get lazy with safety. Over 80% of carseats are
installed incorrectly (usually not tight enough - if you can wiggle it more
than an inch or two side to side, you may need to put your whole weight in
it and tighten it). IIRC, children should be in boosters until their legs
fold at the seat edge without pulling them forward and until the seatbelt
rests across their shoulder. Anchor seats and boosters if you can (the one
that wasn't anchored slipped out from under the child when we rolled, but
he was OK). And drive safe this season,

Lisa S