Car Seat Safety

Why Should I Use A Car Seat?

• The law throughout the United States says that babies and children must ride in child safety seats until they are old enough to fit into adult seat belts.
• Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for children ages 1-5 in the United States, and correct use of car seats could prevent most of these tragedies.
• In a crash at 30 MPH, a 10 lb baby will be ripped from an adult's arms with a force of almost 200 lbs and hurled into the dash or windshield.

When Should I Use A Car Seat?

• Use a car seat EVERY TIME on EVERY TRIP, short or long.
• Don't make the deadly mistake of only using the car seat on freeways or long trips. Most car crashes happen within 25 miles of home.

  Be sure any friends, relatives or babysitters a child rides with have correctly installed safety seats they use evey time a child is in the car.

What Kind of Car Seat Should I Use?

Infants up to 1 year old or about 20 lbs should ride facing the rear of the vehicle in infant-only or convertible safety seats (seats that convert from rear-facing for infants to forward-facing for toddlers).

Children weighing about 20 - 40 lbs should ride facing forward in convertible safety seats or harness systems.

Children who have outgrown their convertible seats or harnesses should ride in booster seats until adult safety belts fit them properly.

Children from birth through age twelve are safest riding properly restrained in the back seat

Booster seats may be either the small sheild or belt-positioning type.

Older children may wear vehicle safety belts when:

• The lap belt stays low and snug across the hips without riding up over the stomach.
• The shoulder belt does not cross the face or front of the neck.

Never allow children to place the shoulder part of the safety belt under their arms (in a crash their ribs may be broken and puncture a lung).

Children with physical needs such as the physically challenged may need special safety restraints. Check with your doctor, therapist or local Easter Seal Society KARS/Special KARS program to find out where to get special restraints.

• An approved child safety seat has a label that says: "This child restraint system conforms to all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards." This label is usually on the back or the side of the car seat.
• If you plan to use the safety seat on an airplane, the label should read: "This restraint is certified for use in motor vehicles and aircraft"

Where Should I Put A Car Seat?

• The back seat is the safest place for a child safety seat.
• Never place a rear-facing infant or convertible seat in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger-side air bag.
• Never let children ride in the bed of a truck, or sleep or play in the back of a station wagon without proper restraint. In a crash, they can be thrown out of the vehicle.

How Should I Install the Car Seat?

• Install your car seat very carefully. Read your car seat instructions and your vehicle's owner's manual, and follow the directions word for word.
• You may need a special locking clip to hold your vehicle safety belts in place so you can anchor your seat properly.
• Check your vehicle's owner's manual to find out if you need a locking clip or other information concerning your vehicle's belt system, which should be available from your car dealer or child seat manufacturer.
• Note: A laerger locking clip (also known as a "heavy-duty" locking clip) with a special part number may be required for you to install a safety seat correctly in some vehicles. Check your vehicle owner's manual to make sure you are using the correct locking clip.
• If your car has door mounted safety belts, you may need to have your car dealer install a special adapter belt to use with your child's safety seat. Check your vehicle owner's manual to find out.

Other Precautions

• Make sure you position the car seat harness straps and clips correctly for the size of your child. Many seats offer a choice of strap positions, with the highest strap used only for forward facing.
• Never use a household baby carrier in place of a safety seat.
• Never use a household booster seat, pillows, or telephone books to boost a child in a vehicle.
• In an emergency, any kind of restraint is better than no restraint.
• If your child's car seat is more than nine years old, it should be replaced. If it has been in a crash, contact the safety seat manufacturer. Hidden crash damage can severely weaken a car seat.
• Do not buy a car whose history is not known. It may have been in a crash.
• Be sure you get a copy of the instructions for the exact seat you own. Your State Highway Safety Office or local public library can help you get the manufacturer's address if you can't find it, or call 1-800-424-9393.
• Complete and return the registration card that comes with your new car seat so the manufacturer can contact you in case of a safety recall.

Children Have An iDentity

The CHAD safety seat child identification progam has been developed as a result of a traffic crash involving a thirteen-month-old boy named Chad. The babysitter who was driving was killed. Chad was injured, but no one at the scene knew his identity. Only because an emergency room nurse recognized him could his parents be quickly notified and his injuries be treated.

To ensure rapid identification of children in emergencies, parents and guardians of small children are encouraged to fill out the information on the sticker and place it on the right front corner (child's right) under the cushion or center of the child's safety seat.