The scariest truth about car seat safety is that out of five, four are incorrectly used. Every year, almost 500 children get killed in car crashes; 200 of them being in car seats designed to save their lives. Many of them get injured being in their car seats.

Fortunately, there are some things you need to do to make your children be safe in their car seats. The below-mentioned tips will help find out whether you are on the right track:

1. Make Sure your Car Seat isn’t too Loose

This can be fixed by placing your knee in the seat and putting all your weight into it. For infants, use your arm to tighten the seat belt as much as you can. Don’t miss to lock the seat belt once tightened. If you’ve got a pre-1996 car, you’ll have to use a locking clip because such cars don’t have adequate belt-locking capabilities.

Engaging the car’s seat belt is very important. Lap-belt locks work totally different from shoulder-belt locks depending on the manual. The danger of seating or placing your child in a loose seat is that when in a collision, you or your child could crash into the back of the front seat and injure their head.

2. Place Your Infant’s Seat at an Angle of 45

Most infant’s car seats have got levels that are in-built capable of telling you if the seat is placed at a wrong angle. Some seats are installed in an upright position. However, if your car’s seat doesn’t have a level, you can fold over a piece of paper to form a triangle.

Next, where your child’s back rests, place the longest part of the triangle up against the seat. The danger of not putting your child’s seat at an angle of 45 is that your child’s airway could be cut off because of its narrow airway causing suffocation.

3. Use the Retainer Clip Correctly

The retainer clip should always be at your armpit level resting across your breastbone. The clip’s purpose is to assure that the harness straps are in the right position. Most people move the clip whenever they move out of the car or move their children out of the seat.

Therefore, it is important that every time you buckle up, you check if the clip is in the right place. The retainer clip being in the wrong place indicates that the straps can slip off easily from your shoulders or child’s shoulder placing you at risk of being ejected from the seat in a car crash.

4. Harness the Straps through the Right Slots

Most car safety seats that are convertible are usually designed with three sets of harness slots. The top set is for the forward-facing position and the two lower sets are designed for the rear-facing positions.

Always check the manufacturer’s instructions that your seat comes with to find out which slots are for what purposes. When your infant is facing forward, there’s always a likelihood that a harness in the lower slots could break your child’s seat during a crash.

5. Use a Booster Seat

Generally, children between 4 and 8 years should ride in booster seats that lift them so the car’s seat belt can properly fit them. Children below 13 years should never be allowed to sit in the front seat. This is because, the adult seat belt in the front seat crosses their belly, high across their shoulders and even across their neck making them uncomfortable.

In a collision, the child can sustain internal organ damage or even spinal and head injuries. The seat belt can even be ejected posing them to more danger of being harmed.

Visit Bell & Pollock to find out more about car seat safety and precautions for you and your loved ones.

Published: 2018-10-10 08:36:28