| "Safety First" | | | | the rear of the vehicle. The American Academy |
| It sounds good when an auto maker wants to sell | | | | of Pediatrics says keep the child facing the rear |
| you a family car. But what is the truth? Auto | | | | of the car until the highest weight or height |
| safety has not put children first, second, or even | | | | allowed by the seat. That can include children up |
| third when it comes to safety. We know this | | | | to 35 pounds. Often parents rely on instruction |
| from the numbers of children killed and injured in | | | | manuals for convertible car seat, which are used |
| auto accidents and the lawsuits that are filed on | | | | facing the front of the car or the rear. Frequently |
| their behalf. | | | | these instructions say only those infants who |
| First it is important to remember that everyone | | | | weigh 20 pounds or under should face rearward. |
| seems to be wearing their seat belts more often | | | | Seat Belts |
| with the national compliance around 85%. And | | | | Twenty years ago, an automaker investigated |
| laws have required child seats for youngsters and | | | | how to best protect children sitting in the |
| infants. Graduated driving licenses restrict new | | | | backseat in a collision. First, they found that seat |
| drivers' hours on the road and that has helped | | | | belts must fit. Second, they must perform as |
| reduce fatalities among teens. | | | | promised. It took subsequent committees and |
| All of that is good, but it does not take a look too | | | | recommendations before these recommendations |
| many years back to see how little thought has | | | | were adopted. |
| been put into keeping children safe in an | | | | The five-point harness was developed to restrain |
| automobile. | | | | children by accommodating their size. While |
| Booster Seats | | | | five-point harnesses appear in infant seats, by the |
| Take for example booster seats. When a child | | | | time a child is 40 pounds or older, fewer child |
| weighs between 40 to 80 pounds, most say they | | | | seats or booster seats offer them. The five-point |
| are too old for a child seat. Most parents agree. | | | | harness works just as well for the older child. |
| But the truth is that their small bodies are not | | | | After all, don't they work for race car drivers? |
| what seat belts were designed to hold. Children | | | | Although they are not widely available integrated |
| between 40 and 80 pounds, or children below | | | | booster seats come with a built-in harness that |
| four feet, nine inches, need to be in a booster | | | | can accommodate kids up to 80 pounds. Many |
| seat to ensure that seat belts can work to keep | | | | feature harness protection and offer a fold-down |
| them secure. But there is no legislation in many | | | | platform, in essence a built in booster seat. |
| states recognizing that need. As a result, most | | | | On the flip side, an ill-fitting seat belt is often |
| parents are unaware that they are putting their | | | | found behind the shoulder of a child. For years, |
| children in potential jeopardy. | | | | even safety advocates said that was okay. That |
| By 1974, the front seat drivers and passengers in | | | | thinking has changed. The shoulder belt should |
| autos were required to have a lap and shoulder | | | | never be placed behind the shoulder because it |
| belt. What happened to children riding in the back? | | | | simply does not work. |
| They got only lap belts. Fast forward to the | | | | Whether the child uses a booster sear or not, the |
| 1990s when rear seats were required to have lap | | | | best is supposed to hit the hard bones of the |
| and shoulder belts in the left and right rear seat. | | | | body such as the hip and shoulder. When it does |
| Believe it or not, the middle seat lap only belts | | | | not fit properly, in a crash the child can cause a |
| were still commonplace as recently as the 2008 | | | | "roll out" injury. The child rolls out of the belt and |
| model year. | | | | as a result can severely injure internal organs |
| Adjustable straps, which clearly would help better | | | | such as the abdomen or the neck. An ill-fitting |
| fit little people were offered to adults in the front | | | | seat belt can also cause a child to "submarine" or |
| seat by the mid 1990s. No so for the backseat. | | | | slide under the belt which can lead to fatal injuries |
| Car Seats | | | | or paralysis. |
| There has been no product more recalled than | | | | What would make the difference? |
| child seats. Reputable organization, Consumer | | | | Solutions to ill-fitting seat belts include adjustable |
| Reports has shown many car seats are just plain | | | | upper anchors that be fitted to children: |
| ineffective in certain kinds of accidents. | | | | - Anchoring the upper shoulder belt to the area |
| Have you heard of infant carrier seats where the | | | | behind the back seat rather than on the side pillar. |
| handle does not snap into the unit, throwing the | | | | - An anti-submarining seat keeps a child snug in |
| baby to the ground? That has not been the only | | | | the seat. |
| problem. It's estimated that up to 90 percent of | | | | - Adult seat belts in the front have something |
| infant seats are installed incorrectly. And your local | | | | called, pretensioners, that allow for adjustment. |
| car dealer or fire department may not know | | | | Installing them in child seats cost about the price |
| about all of the different models. It is best to use | | | | of two Happy Meals, about $7. |
| a certified child seat technician and make sure the | | | | - Reduce additional webbing that stops a child |
| seat fits properly in your vehicle. | | | | before they engage in the full frontal force of a |
| That problem is partially due to the lack of | | | | crash allows their momentum to slow sooner in a |
| standardization. Europe has resolved the problem | | | | front crash. |
| by requiring the same standard mounting | | | | What will this take? A serous education campaign |
| hardware that tethers the seat at the top and | | | | to keep kids buckled up until 80 pounds. Primary |
| bottom. There is also little training for parents in | | | | enforcement laws so that caregivers can be |
| how to correctly install the infant seats. In the U.S. | | | | stopped for no other offense than the child is |
| they are tethered at the bottom and some seats | | | | improperly restrained. And a standardization of |
| can break apart from the seat base, sending the | | | | safety features for all types of cars, not just high |
| seat and baby sailing. | | | | end ones, so parents can know that automakers |
| Facing the Rear | | | | are serious about kids riding safely in cars. |
| Conventional wisdom is that infants should face | | | | |