Keeping Your Children Safe
In 2006 1,451 children under the age of 14 died as passengers in motor vehicle accidents, and another 200,000 more were injured. According to the NHTSA nearly half of those who died were not properly restrained in a seat belt or child safety seat.This doesn’t have to happen to you. There are a number of measures you can take to prevent injury or death to a child.
- All children 12 or under should be sitting in the back seat and properly restrained at all times. Even if you are just going around the corner, it is extremely important to properly restrain all children. Accidents can happen anywhere at anytime.
- Prior to installing a child safety seat, make sure to read all of the instructions and safety manuals. This will ensure you are installing the seat the correct way. A 2006 NHTSA report indicated out of 3,200 observed child restraint systems, 72% were being misused or not installed properly, resulting in a greater risk to the occupants of that seat.
- Immediately after you purchase a car seat, make sure to register it with the manufacturer. This way if there are any recalls or safety concerns, you will be notified promptly by the manufacturer.
- If your vehicle was in an accident, replace all car seats that were in the car at the time of the accident.
Taking these steps should help to keep your young ones as safe as possible. Aside from this list, safe driving will contribute the most to the safety of you and your passengers.
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