Car Seat Safety for Children
Alisa Baer M.D., also known as “The Car Seat Lady,” and her advocacy group have installed a collective 45,000 car seats in more than 30 years. Dr. Baer lists four things often overlooked when it comes to proper car seat usage:
Transitioning too soon
This can be from rear-facing to front-facing, from a five-point harness to a booster seat, or from a booster seat to the seat belt alone.
Not using the tether strap
Every forward-facing car seat manufactured in the United States comes with a tether strap, and every vehicle manufactured since 2000 comes with places to secure that strap. The tether is important because it reduces head movement by 4 to 6 inches. Head injuries are the most common form of injury in a car crash.
Everyone needs to be buckled
Everyone, including adults in the back seat, needs to be buckled. An unbelted adult can become a “human missile” in a crash and severely injure others. People who are not buckled are up to three times more likely to die in that same crash.
Check snugness
“Make sure the seat is snug to the car and the child snug in the harness.”
For more information, visit The Car Seat Lady.