The Centers for Disease Control reports that in 2017, 675 children who were 12 years of age and younger died while riding in motor vehicles. To keep the number of children impacted by car accidents as low as possible, it is wise to learn about what you can do to keep your family safe while riding in motor vehicles. Several important tips for parents regarding child car seat safety are included below.
Make Sure to Use a New Child Car Seat
Child car seats are becoming more complicated and costly as new safety technologies are discovered. Your child will need an adequate car seat until they reach the age of 12, become 4’9” tall, or grow to be 90 pounds. The exact type of car seat required will change as your child grows. Despite the expense involved in replacing car seats, parents should not keep car seats after car accidents. Parents should also avoid reusing car seats between children or accepting hand-me-downs from friends or family members.
Parents must replace car seats after even moderate car collisions. If your car was involved in an accident, the vehicle must be immediately drivable after the collision, the airbags must not have gone off, the door closest to the child’s safety seat must not have been damaged, and there must be no visible damage to the seat in order to warrant keeping the car seat in use.
Make Sure to Wear Your Own Seat Belt
Children learn from their parents. Set a good example and to wear your own seatbelt. Also, wearing a seatbelt increases your chances of staying safe in case an accident occurs, so you can continue providing care to your child. By protecting yourself and wearing a seatbelt, you are also protecting your child.
Make Sure to Always Use the Car Seat Tether
Not all parents use the tether, which anchors the top of the child seat to the vehicle. With forward-facing car seats, the tether prevents your child’s head from going too far forward and protects against spinal cord injuries. If you are uncertain about how to attach the tether, you should check either your car manual or car seat manual.
Make Sure Your Child Does Not Face Forward Too Soon
The steps toward sitting like a grown-up in the car are often viewed by children as a rite of passage. For this reason, it can be difficult for parents to insist that children are not yet tall enough to fit in a seat belt without a booster seat. Your child must be at least 4’9” tall before he or she can sit in the car with only a seatbelt. Children who are too small could end up experiencing serious, life-changing injuries in an accident without the protection of a child car seat.
Speak with an Experienced Missouri Car Accident Attorney
Regardless of a person’s age, car accidents can result in tragic injuries. When children are involved, however, the results are often particularly devastating. If you are involved in an accident, you should not hesitate to contact a knowledgeable accident lawyer at House Law LLC.
Tags: car accidents
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