With smaller frames, children are more susceptible to injury in car crashes when not properly secured. And every day almost 2,600 kids under the age of 13 are in vehicles involved in collisions. To safeguard your children, learn how to protect them from the all-to-real risk of injury.
Of course, it is important to note how important it is for parents or other caregivers to also fasten their own seatbelts. In one story, a mother properly restrained her child, but neglected her own seatbelt. In a serious car accident, she was thrown from the vehicle and died. Her child sustained only minor injuries.
Auto safety for babies and toddlers
Car seats only protect children when used correctly. All too often parents make mistakes in installation or do not cinch the strap against their child’s chest. Free child car seat safety checks allow parents to get their car seats checked for child safety by auto passenger safety experts.
As a reminder, children should ride rear facing until the age of 2. For children under the age of 2, riding in a rear-facing car seat decreases their risk of death in an auto accident by 75 percent.
A continuing focus on child safety
Children must get in the habit of wearing their seat belts while in a vehicle no matter how short the trip. You are a role model, so make sure to buckle up 100 percent of the time. Check that everyone is safely buckled before ever shifting into reverse or drive.
When teenagers begin driving, they may rebel by speeding or driving without a seat belt. Teen drivers have the lowest seat belt use rates, which can have deadly consequences. Be involved in your child’s driving habits and insist on seat belt usage as a condition of using the family car. Remaining firm on seat belt use decreases the odds of death.
You never think that something as devastating as a fatal auto accident will happen to you, until it does. By promoting child car safety and wearing your seat belt, you can increase the odds of your family members surviving an auto accident.
