Children’s Car Seats
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Does your child ride in the back seat? The back seat is generally the safest place in a crash.If your vehicle has a passenger air bag, it is essential for children 12 and under to ride in back. Does your child ride facing the right way? Infants should ride in rear facing restraints, preferably in the back seat, until about age 1 and at least 20-22 lbs (A). Infants who weigh 20 lbs. before 1 year of age should ride in a restraint approved for higher rear facing weights (B). Always read your child restraint owner manual for instructions on properly using the restraint. Children over age one and at least 20 pounds may ride facing forward (C). Does the safety belt hold the seat tightly in place? Put the belt through the right slot. If your safety seat can be used facing either way, use the correct belt slots for each direction.The safety belt must stay tight when securing the safety seat. Check the vehicle owner's manual for tips on using the safety belts. Is the harness buckled snugly around your child? Keep the straps over your child's shoulder. The harness should be adjusted so you can slip only one finger underneath the straps at your child's chest. Place the chest clip at armpit level. Does your child over 40 pounds have the best protection possible? Keep your child in a safety seat with a full harness as long as possible, at least until 40 pounds (C). Then use a belt-positioning booster seat which helps the adult lap and shoulder belt fit better. A belt-positioning booster seat is preferred for children between 40-80 pounds (D). It is used with the adult lap and shoulder belt. Check on special products for heavy children too active to sit still in a booster. How should a safety belt fit an older child? The child must be tall enough to sit without slouching, with knees bent at the edge of the seat, with feet on the floor. The lap belt must fit low and tight across the upper thighs. The shoulder belt should rest over the shoulder and across the chest (E). Never put the shoulder belt under the arm or behind the child's back. The adult lap and shoulder belt system alone will not fit most children until they are at least 4'9" tall and weigh about 80 pounds. |
Restraint Use and Their Effectiveness
Research has shown that lap/shoulder seat belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front seat occupants (age 5 and older) of passenger cars by 45 percent and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent. For light-truck occupants, seatbelt restraints reduce the risk of fatal injury by 60 percent and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 65 percent.
During 2008, 5,598 passenger vehicle occupants age 14 and younger were involved in fatal crashes. For those children where restraint use was known, 23 percent were unrestrained; among those who were fatally injured, 46 percent were unrestrained.
Research on the effectiveness of child safety seats has found them to reduce fatal injury by 71 percent for infants (younger than 1 year old) and by 54 percent for toddlers (1 to 4 years old) in passenger cars. For infants and toddlers in light trucks, the corresponding reductions are 58 percent and 59 percent, respectively.
In 2008, there were 297 passenger vehicle occupant fatalities among children age 4 and younger. Of those 297 fatalities, where restraint use was known (282), 94 (32%) were totally unrestrained.
Important Safety Reminders
Failure to read the child safety seat instructions, in addition to vehicle owner manual instructions regarding seat belts, could result in serious injury or death as a result of a failure of the child safety seat to be securely and/or properly restrained.
Children in rear-facing child seats should not be placed in the front seat of vehicles equipped with passenger-side air bags. The impact of a deploying air bag striking a rear-facing child seat could result in injury to the child. NHTSA also recommends that children 12 and under sit in the rear seat away from the force of a deploying air bag.
Children age 12 and under are safest when properly buckled in the back seat of a motor vehicle. Avoid unwanted injuries; many kids suffer with muscle pains, headaches, back pain, and pain for years. Visit our chiropractic treatment for car accidents and scoliosis page.
Always read the child restraint manufacturer instructions and the vehicle owner manual instructions. Visit our Kids health and head restraints along with car accidents pages
Info from NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811157.pdf
The following Videos help you with the stages of child supports.
- Child restraints - Introduction, before the baby, what the law says AND Pregnant mothers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8wLtebo1GA&feature=BF&list=PL69DFB9DDBA7A87AD&index=1
- Child Restraints 0 to 6 months http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf7_gtBz50g&feature=BF&list=PL69DFB9DDBA7A87AD&index=2
- Child Restraints 6 months to under 4 years http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7IY4pAKyi4&feature=BF&list=PL69DFB9DDBA7A87AD&index=3
- Child Restraints & Booster Seats 4 years to under 7 years http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH5JpQHedLY&feature=BF&list=PL69DFB9DDBA7A87AD&index=4
- Child Safety Harnesses http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKpZFKQ4ax0&feature=autoplay&list=PL69DFB9DDBA7A87AD& index=5&playnext=1
- Combination Child Restraint/Booster Seats http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TxSO53lbeo&feature=BF&list=PL69DFB9DDBA7A87AD&index=6
- Restraints: children aged over 7 years http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBLCqb_8bks&feature=BF&list=PL69DFB9DDBA7A87AD&index=7
- Child Restraints and Booster Seats: second hand restraints http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYE9w5KQK6w&feature=BF&list=PL69DFB9DDBA7A87AD&index=8
Carlsbad Chiropractic
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