CAR SEAT SAFETY
BIRTH CENTER NAVIGATION
BIRTH CENTER
CHILD CAR SEAT SAFETY
CHILD SAFETY RESOURCES
Car seats and boosters offer the best protection for children in the event of a crash. It’s important to use the correct car seat every time your child is in a vehicle. When child safety seats are used correctly, prevention of fatalities is 60 percent more effective.
According to research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a rear-facing, portable car seat is the best for your newborn or small infant to use.
The Importance of Child Safety Seats
Child safety seats offer the best protection for children in the event of a vehicle crash. Child restraints work best when installed and used as directed by the manufacturer. They are most effective and safer when children use an age appropriate car seat.
Three out of four child safety seats are improperly installed, according to research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. For proper instructions, please visit the child passenger safety website. www.nhtsa.gov/.
The Leading Cause of Child Deaths
Unfortunately, motor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of death for children. Approximately one third of children under the age of thirteen who are involved in fatal passenger vehicle crashes are not in car seats or secured by a seat belt. When child safety seats are used correctly in the second row, prevention in fatalities are 60 percent more effective.
Child Seat Safety Laws
All 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have laws requiring children to be restrained in child safety seats in motor vehicles. Failure to read and follow the child safety seat instructions, in addition to vehicle owner manual instructions regarding installation, could result in serious injury or death as a result of a failure of the child safety seat to be securely or properly restrained.
Child Seat Safety by Age
NHTSA recommends that children who have outgrown their child safety seats should ride in booster seats until they are at least 8 years old, unless they are 4’9″ or taller. Children under thirteen are safest when properly buckled in the back seat of a motor vehicle.
Car Seat Safety Resources
- healthychildren.org
- www.nhtsa.gov
- National Highway Traffic Safety Association
- Safe Kids Worldwide™ *
*We would like to thank Safe Kids Worldwide for their permission to offer these PDFs on our website.