Child Seat Safety and Preventing Injury and Death
Brian O Sutter
Accident Lawyers
One of the leading causes of death among children in the United States is from auto accidents. Properly installed and secured child safety seats help decrease the chance of fatal injury significantly. When determining what kind of protection your child needs as a passenger in the car, you need to remember that as they grow, their needs will change. If you are unsure if the car seat you are using has been properly installed, there are Child Passenger Safety Technicians across the country that can teach parents how to safely transport their children and ensure that all seats have been installed correctly.
Not only do they encourage the safety of the child passengers, but they also encourage the adults in the vehicle to buckle up as well.
Inspection Stations
You can find help with your car seats at one of several locations in your area, including General Motors dealerships, hospitals, and fire departments. These inspection stations are open during regular hours. However, parents and caregivers can also elect to set an appointment at the location of their choosing.
Child Passenger Safety Tips
When discussing child passenger safety tips, one of the biggest points to remember is that children are always going to be safer in the backseat. Children should not sit in the front until they reach the age of thirteen.
It is also important to be mindful of the toys and other objects your child carries into the car. For example, you don't want them to be near hard or loose objects that can cause injury during an accident. Instead, opt for softer toys that are safer and won't cause injury.
Another point to remember is never to leave your children in the car unattended at any time. Heatstroke is a very serious illness, and it doesn't take much time for a car to heat up enough to cause damage to your child. A car has the ability to heat up nineteen degrees in just a ten-minute timeframe. Cracking a window is going to do nothing to help this and will not make the car any cooler.
Younger children are at higher risk for experiencing heatstroke because their smaller bodies can heat up three to five times faster than that of an adult body. So, never leave your child in the car, create reminders as a visual reminder that your child is in the car with you, and take action if you see a child alone in a car.
Car Seat Safety Tips
For the best protection, you should have your child rear-facing until they are at least two years old. However, you can also consult the height and weight requirements as set forth by your car seat manufacturer. Rear-facing kids have more protection for their head, neck, and spine in the case of an accident. It is also vital that they are far away from the airbags as well.
Always keep the car seat in the backseat and use the tether at all times to keep it securely in place. The tether can help prevent the car seat from launching forward during an accident.
You should always be mindful of the labels on your car seat. Make sure it is the appropriate seat for your child and their age, weight, and height. Car seats also have expiration dates, so always check to make sure that your car seat is still deemed safe.
Finally, if you do get into an auto accident and the car seat was in the car with or without a child in it you should immediately discard that car seat and purchase a new one. Once it has been involved in an accident, there is a chance it was compromised. It is better to be safe than sorry.