Is Your Car Seat Properly Installed for your Summer Trips?
Summer is well underway and you’ve likely hit the road a time or two already. If you have little ones, are you certain their car seats are installed properly?
The CDC reports that properly using a car seat reduced the risk for injury by as much as 82% (compared to using just the seat belt). With that in mind, it’s also important to have the car seat installed, and used, properly. The Car Crash Captain has rounded up a handful of tips to ensure that your young ones aren’t just strapped in, they’re strapped in properly.
Proper Use of Car Seats and Booster Seats
Before we dive into this, we have to make sure that the seat you’re using is in good working order. Did you know that car seats expire? From the date of manufacture, the seat will reach the end of its lifespan in 7 to 10 years (earlier if it has been involved in a wreck or otherwise damaged). You can learn about how to find the date and more on the Graco website.
Make Sure It’s Secured Properly
Some reports say as many as half of all car seats aren’t secured properly inside the vehicle. When this happens, the child can be in as much – possibly more – danger than if they were just using the seatbelt.
Vehicles made since 2003 have the LATCH system to help secure car seats in place. But what’s often missed is the tether strap – it wraps up over the back seat to help ensure the car seat isn’t going to move much if an accident occurs.
Harness Chest Clip and Shoulder Straps at the Right Height
Even if the seat is installed and secured properly, the child must be installed and secured properly too. This means adjusting the clips and the straps so they’re positioned on the body to hold the precious cargo securely.
The chest clip should be level with the armpits and in the middle of the chest. For rear-facing children, the straps should be at or just below, the shoulders – those facing forward the straps go at, or just above, the shoulders.
Put your Child in the Right Sized Car Seat
There are a lot of options out there for car seats. They range from a simple and cheap booster seat, on up to something that looks more suitable for a space launch than a trip to the grocery store.
The best way to choose is to measure and weigh your child, then find the seat that will accommodate him or her. Sometimes it’s worth spending a little more money early on to get an adjustable seat that will “grow” with your child than to swap them out and replace completely.
Think Twice About a Second-hand Seat
When you’re on a budget, and let’s face it, most new parents are on a budget, you’re always looking for deals. That seat that’s $100 in the store and at a garage sale for $20 sounds like a way to save money (that will ultimately be spent on diapers), so why not?
The problem is that you don’t know the seat’s history. You can certainly look and see that it hasn’t expired, but was it in an accident? Was it dropped? Are there missing parts, has a defect, recalled? Even if it’s structurally sound, was it cleaned after diaper blowouts?
Inheriting a seat from a close friend or family member is one thing, but it’s usually best to pass on the seats purchased used.
Consider Clothing When Buckling
Summer is here, and we’re all in single layers of clothing. But when winter rolls around, your child will likely put on a sweater at least – and perhaps a huge puffy coat, hat, gloves, and thick boots. Strapping them into the seat while bundled up can make the seat less effective.
Bulky clothing won’t allow the straps to be tightened completely. Loose straps means that your child isn’t fully secured, and could be injured or killed in a wreck. Those clothing won’t help pad the child either – a hard bump onto the concrete will hurt just as badly.
A better idea is to ensure the vehicle has warmed enough that you can comfortably ride without wearing the bulk.
Rear Facing is Safer
Statistics show that while facing toward the back, a child is five times less likely to sustain a severe injury. But it’s tempting to turn them around when they hit 2-years-old so they can see what’s going on and have room for their legs.
Kids, however, don’t really care about facing forward unless you make a big deal about it. And their legs are loose and limber – unlike our creaky old legs that start to get sore if we sit with them crossed for more than a couple of minutes at a time.
Keep them facing toward the back all the way up until age 4 to be on the safe side.
Herbert Law Group Helps Families After Wrecks
It’s daunting traveling with children – especially your first one and the first trip back from the hospital. But did you know that you can take your car seat to the fire station and ask them to double check and ensure it’s installed properly? There’s no charge for the service and most fire fighters are happy to help out.
If you have been involved in a car wreck, and you or your family member was injured or killed – in a properly secured and used car seat or not – we’re here to help.
Herbert Law Group wants to alleviate some of the stress you’re feeling. Leave the insurance and legal stuff up to use, and you focus on healing. Let’s start with a free conversation to find out what happened. Reach our offices at 214-414-3808, or fill out the contact form on our site and we’ll be in touch.