All opinions are mine and mine alone.
Essential Car Safety Tips For Children
43% of children who die in car crashes are improperly restrained, NPR reports. On the whole, road fatalities are on the rise in the US with lack of state regulation and public awareness to blame. While most parents already know the importance of wearing seatbelts and driving responsibly, there’s so much more to car safety. Learning about essential safety precautions will ensure you’re doing all that’s possible to keep your child safe in the car.
Install car seats correctly
A new study in the Journal of Pediatrics found only 5% of parents use car seats correctly. Installing a car seat can be complicated, so it’s useful to get yours checked by a professional in your local area. It’s particularly important forward-facing car seats are always tethered. The tether runs from the top of the seat to an anchor at the back. It functions to protect the child’s head by keeping it in place during a collision. Children under two should also sit in rear-facing car seats until they reach the highest height and weight allowed by the seat.
Sit them in the safest seat
The middle seat is the safest place for children to sit in a car (whether they’re in a car seat or not). In a collision, the center seat gets far less impact than the outer side seats, which are hit with greater direct force. However, this advice is only true if the middle seat of your car has a full, three-point seatbelt. Older models tend just to have a lap belt, which doesn’t provide the same security. If this is the case for your car, your children will be safer sitting in the back window seat.
Get comprehensive car insurance
Check if your insurance covers car seats. Most car insurance policies will pay for a replacement car seat following a crash. In fact, nowadays car safety is prioritized by insurance companies. If you have comprehensive insurance, it’ll likely match the seat’s total replacement value (roughly $300). Moreover, the NHTSA recommends car seats should always be replaced after moderate or severe accidents — even if a child wasn’t in it at the time. Even if the seat doesn’t look damaged, it may have been weakened by almost invisible hairline fractures.
While older children are often eager to ride up front, if they’re younger than thirteen, it’s safer for them to sit in the backseat. Passenger-side air bags are designed to protect adult bodies and can actually hurt children. With these safety tips, you’ll be better prepared to keep your children safe on the road.
Speak Your Mind