3 Tips that Could Save Your Child’s Life
Taking car trips can be fun for both children and adults. But when traveling with children by car you have the added responsibility of making sure they are safe in the vehicle on top of all the other caregiving responsibilities. Trying to keep children safe in a vehicle can be stressful, especially with all the regulations surrounding the proper car seats that are required for children of all sizes. Luckily, ConsumerReports.org has put together some tips to help keep our children safe while traveling.
Use Seatbelts
This is almost a no brainer but it is very important for children to use seatbelts when traveling by car. A study completed in 2011 showed that among fatally injured passengers, more than half of those who were killed were not wearing their seatbelt. This statistic especially rings true for younger drivers – over 40 percent of drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 who were killed in motor vehicle accidents were not wearing the proper seatbelt restraints. Make sure to buckle up children, and yourself, every time.
Use the Right Car Seat
As mentioned earlier, regulations have been announced for the proper type of car seat and the ages and sizes of children that should be using them. Make sure to do the proper research to find the right type of car seat for your child based on their age, height and weight. Children under a certain height should always be seated in the back seat and it is also important to make sure the car seat you are using has been installed properly. If you are unsure if the car seat is installed correctly, you can find a car seat technician by using resources like SafeKids.org to find an individual to inspect and install the seat.
Keep Additional Items Secure
During a vehicle crash, or even a sudden stop, anything that is not secured down in the car can become a dangerous projectile object. Anything remotely heavy should not be stored on the package shelf behind the back seats and even heavy items in the trunk should be secured using the cargo anchors. When loading the car with gear, heaviest items should go on the floor closest to the front of the cargo area and nothing should be piled in a way that allows it to fly into the seating area of the car.
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*Photo Courtesy of Ben Francis via Creative Commons License