For American children under the age of 18, car accidents are the leading cause of death. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), many of these child fatalities can be prevented by using proper safety restraints when transporting children in your car.

Using proper child safety restraints in your car can protect your child in a car accident and reduce their risk of serious injury and/or death. All types of restraints such as seat belts, booster seats, and car seats must be appropriate for your child’s size, weight and age. When it comes to motor vehicle child safety restraints, one size does not fit all. An auto accident attorney Portland Oregon often sees severe injuries when restraints are not properly fitted to the child.

* Seat Belts – If your child is eight years old or older, factory installed car seat belts are recommended for safety. When your child rides in the back seat and stays buckled into their seat belt while driving, car accident injuries and fatalities are reduced by as much as 50 percent.

* Booster Seats – Booster seats are recommended by NHTSA for children between the ages of four and eight. Children in this age group are often too small in size and weight to be properly protected by seat belts. They often slip out of a seat belt in a high-impact car accident.

* Infant Car Seats – Infants under one-year of age or under 20 pounds should always ride in an infant car seat placed in the back seat. For maximum protection from injury, the car seat should be installed so the child faces the back windshield, not the front of the car.

In 2014, more than 600 children under the age of 12 died in car accidents in America, and another 121,000 children were seriously injured. According to NHTSA studies, more than 600,000 children under the age of 12 commonly travel in motor vehicles without using any type of safety restraints at all. Accident statistics show that approximately 40 percent of children who die in car accidents are not properly restrained or not wearing any type of safety restraint.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 12th, 2018 at 6:38 pm and is filed under Auto, Car. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.