Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
In 2020, there were 607 children aged 12 or under who died in auto accidents. Thirty-eight percent of those who died were not in a safety restraint. An additional 63,000 children suffered injuries.
The importance of car seat safety for children is well known. Sixty-five percent of children under 14 killed in a crash were riding with unbuckled drivers. Your example helps instill a life-saving habit in your children.
Understanding and complying with your state law about car seats doesn’t guarantee your child’s safety. Only five states require children to be in a booster seat until at least age nine. Whereas, most children do not properly fit a seat belt until 10 or even 12 years of age. State car seat laws are general precautions that don’t always meet the best practice recommendations of child safety experts.
We wants to ensure your child arrives safely on every trip, from the moment of conception until they leave the nest. We are going to share important facts that will help your child arrive safely every time they travel by car.
All Trips Require Car Seats
Seventy-six percent of parents don’t put safety first for car seat usage during short trips, especially those under a mile.
The parent’s responsibility is to ensure child safety for every child in their vehicle. Make sure everyone is properly buckled in before moving the car. Use proper restraints and check buckles to ensure they are secure on every trip.
Remove or Adjust
Putting safety first for car seat usage includes removing coats in cold weather or readjusting all straps for a proper fit. Not having the harness correctly adjusted can result in injury to the child or ejection from the car seat during a crash.
Consumer Reports car safety experts see parents frequently making the same harnessing mistakes:
- Not re-adjusting harness straps as the child grows—increases the amount the child’s body may move in a crash
- Allowing one harness strap to be looser than the other—the force from a crash will not evenly distribute across the child’s body
- Leaving crotch buckle undone—allows the child to slide down and out of car seat during an accident; may cause strangulation if neck catches in chest clip
- Loose harness—allows child to move out of straps, risking ejection during an accident
- Improper harness height—rear-facing seat straps go at or below shoulders; on forward-facing seats, straps go at or above shoulders
- Twisted straps—give a false impression of a tight harness and, because it is narrower than the flat strap, impact during a crash is amplified
- Incorrect chest-clip position—should always be at armpit level
If the chest clip sits too high on the body, it may bruise or injure the child’s neck and throat. If it is too low, it can cause too much force on the abdomen during a collision. Low clips also increase the risk of ejection from the seat during an accident.
Car Seat Safety Before Birth
When you have a life growing inside you, seat belts are uncomfortable. There is also concern about injury to the fetus due to the impact of an accident.
Automobile accidents during pregnancy are the leading cause of traumatic fetal mortality, severe maternal injury morbidity, and mortality, injuring approximately 92,500 pregnant women in the U.S. yearly.
To protect your unborn child, you need a maternity seatbelt positioner that undergoes crash and strength testing.
The Tummy Shield Pregnancy Seat Belt Positioner by Safe Ride 4 Kids is made from stainless steel plate and anchor construction. It holds the seatbelt in place, preventing pressure against the belly and fetus during a collision. The attachment is easy to move from the driver to the passenger side, so you never have to go without protection.
The device secures the seatbelt over the legs instead of across your stomach. Purchase this important car safety device early in pregnancy so you can begin using it as soon as you start purchasing maternity clothes.
Be aware that there are no federal safety standards for child car safety of unborn children, AKA pregnant mothers, so it is easy to sell cheaply made knockoff versions. Verify that the product you purchase undergoes crash testing for compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
Non Traditional Options
When people think of car seat safety for children, their mind goes to infant carriers, high-back car seats, and booster seats. These all serve a purpose, but they take up space in the car and can be burdensome when transferring children from one car to another.
Any parent who has tried to position three car seats or boosters in a backseat understands how crowded it is. When facing the multiple car seat placement battle, it is easy to forgo child car safety and take the easy route, skipping special child restraints.
The RideSafer Vest is as effective as a car seat and is easier to use. The certified, wearable child restraint is lightweight and portable. It is compact, fitting into your child’s backpack and ensuring they have a safety restraint system no matter who they are riding with.
The vest includes a tether strap, crotch strap, and a carry bag. The 3-clip design places the car’s seat belt in a comfortable position that fits correctly and allows the child to sit on the car seat. In the event of a collision, the padding of the vest absorbs and disburses crash energy from the seatbelt, providing the equivalent safety of car seats.
Child Needs a Boost
Your child is fighting against using their high-back seat because they don’t want to look like a baby. You prefer the safety of car seats. It’s time to put them into a booster.
A backless booster gives additional height. This allows children to enjoy the view out their window from a secure, safe seat. You are happy knowing they have extra protection in an accident.
You can use the TravelSmarter booster alone or in combination with a travel vest. This gives you options for additional safety depending on your child’s height and weight, plus your views on the best handling of car seat safety for children.
Ensuring Car Seat Safety for Children
The key to car seat safety for children is making it a priority. Proper restraints are necessary every time your child enters the car, from before birth through their growing years. Car safety extends beyond purchasing the best car seats and requires you to properly use child restraints during every trip, no matter how short or long.
Safe Ride 4 Kids offers top products from pregnancy through youth that undergo testing for crash safety.
Guest post.
Copyright 2024 Safe Ride 4 Kids. All rights reserved. You may not publish, broadcast, rewrite or redistribute this material without permission. You are welcome to link to Safe Ride 4 Kids or share on social media.
