“Despite our best efforts, almost 80 percent of child car seats are incorrectly installed. We know that children are safer in them, but they have to be used correctly,” said Dr. Joseph O’Neil, associate professor of clinical pediatrics, IU School of Medicine.
That statement may be surprising to many parents with children required to be in a child car seat, but vehicle and safety experts agree.
One way to understand why and how children can still be unsafe is to understand the reasons behind the problem and correct it.
According to O’Neil, although directions come with child safety seats, product manufacturers don’t write the instructions at a reading level most people can understand. Many people don’t even bother to read the directions given with the product and there are really two sets of instructions: one provided by the product, the other provided by the car manufacturers’ providing their own suggestions on how to install a car seat in relationship to the make and model of the vehicle.
Despite the reasons, parents are encouraged to get the necessary knowledge on how their child should be seated properly in the event of a car crash.
Once parents understand how to properly secure the car seat in the vehicle, they must then find the right seat for the age, lenght and weight for their child. O’Neil states that rear facing seats are the safest, but typically kids from infancy to 2 years old should be in a rear-facing child seat with safety straps going over shoulder at or below the shoulder.
Typically, kids from ages 2 to about 4 can be in a forward facing seat with the straps at or above shoulder level. Due to crash dynamics in a car accident, how the child is facing and the security of the straps is very important. In short, in a car crash involving a rear facing seat, the impact rides the child up while the seat is designed to hold the child down; when kids are in a forward facing seat, the crash forces the child to go forward so parents would want a seat to hold the child back.
“We found in the second year of life, if a child is facing backwards compared to forward, they are about five times less likely to be killed in a motor vehicle crash,” said O’Neil. “We recommend parents get a convertible seat which can go backwards up to a higher weight then you can turn them around and use them until they’re ready for a booster seat.”
In addition to making sure the straps being at the proper level, straps should never be too loose, nor should parents attach toys or added products to the seat. Those also changes the crash dynamics of the seat. Booster seats are recommended from age 4 to age 8 or 80 pounds.
If parents are still unsure that their child’s car seat is installed properly or what seat is best for their child, there is an abundance of seat installation clinics and help parents can receive. The Marion County Traffic Safety Partnership normally conducts one child seat clinic a month.
“We request the person bring in their child, the vehicle they normally drive, and the car seat they’d normally use for the child. We have certified technicians check the car seat to make sure it’s adequate for the child, properly installed and if the seat was recalled,” said Don Vickle, director of the Marion County Traffic Safety Partnership. Appointments are required.
Parents may think their child is perfectly safe, but Vickle believes parents have nothing to lose by double checking. If a child is in fact injured in a car crash due to an improperly secured car seat, it can lead to their spinal cord being severed, liver lacerations, spleen ruptures, bladder/kidney problems, paraplegia and death among other serious injuries.
Experts state in the past 10 years, the rate of motor vehicle crash deaths in infants have reduced by over 71 percent proving child car safety seats work. Child seats may save lives, but it’s up to parents to make sure they work for their child.
For more information, call the Automotive Safety Program at Riley Hospital at (317) 274-2977, 1-800-543-6227, visit www.Preventinjury.org or call the Marion County Traffic Safety Program at (317) 327-5356.
