Car
seat/seatbelt safety
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommend the following guidelines to help keep your family safe in your vehicle. These guidelines will help prevent injury to you and your children in case of a car collision. Every state requires that infants and children ride buckled up. However, state laws do vary, and they do not always require the safest way to transport a child. More children are killed as passengers in car accidents than from any other type of injury.
- EVERYONE in the car must "buckle up" with
age-appropriate restraint devices.
- The back seat is always the safest place for a
child 12 years and under.
- Infants should be restrained in a rear-facing car seat
until they are at least twenty pounds and one year of age. If
necessary, pad the sides of the seat with rolled-up receiving blankets to
prevent your infant from slouching. When your infant is small, you
may use an infant seat, but when your infant outgrows the weight or length
limit (usually 20-22 pounds or 25-27 inches) you must use a rear facing
convertible seat instead. Never mount a rear-facing infant seat
in front of a passenger-side air bag. If the air bag deploys,
serious injury and death may occur. Refer to your owner's manual for
recommendations regarding mounting car seats next to side air bags.
- A convertible car seat may be used after your child
outgrows the infant seat. The convertible seat should be rear facing
until the child is 20 pounds and one year, after which it may face
forward. These seats may be used until the child has reached 40
pounds or his/her shoulders are above the top harness slots; this
generally occurs by four years of age. When you turn a rear
facing convertible car seat around to face forward, do not forget to
reroute the shoulder straps above your child's shoulders and mount the
seat in an upright position.
- Belt positioning booster seats should be used after
your child outgrows the convertible car seat. These seats are
designed to be used between 40 and 80 pounds. Most children will not
properly fit into a regular seat belt until they are 4 foot 9 inches and
80 pounds. Before you allow your child to sit in a regular seat
belt, check to see that the shoulder belt fits over the clavicle (collar
bone), the lap belt fits snugly over the hips, and the knees are forward
of the seat cushion. Never tuck the shoulder belt under the child's
arm or behind the child's back!
- Built-in booster seats are available in some vehicles.
They may be used for children who are at least 1 year of age and weigh at
least 20 pounds. Check your owner's manual for weight and height
limits since they vary.
For information about installing your car safety seat, you can access the following web site www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/contacts/index.cfm to find a certified Child Passenger Safety contact near you. You may also speak with a certified Child Passenger Safety (CPS) technician at 888-327-4236, 8 am-10 pm ET, Monday-Friday.
For information regarding a car safety seat recall, contact the manufacturer, the Auto Safety Hot Line at 888-327-4236 or 800-424-9393, or access www.nhtsa.gov.
Additional information may be found at the following web sites:
www.aap.org
www.medem.com
www.boostamerica.org
www.nhtsa.gov
