The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released statistics revealing that car accidents are the leading cause of death for children aged 1 to 13.

This revelation comes hot on the heels of information pointing to the fact that most parents don’t know how to appropriately position child seats in their car. Human error and lack of education may have led to some of these accidents in the past. That being said, keeping your child safe while in the car is easy and might just save you and your child a world of hurt.

Car Seat Position

Chicco USA recently revealed a report showing that most parents are not aware of the correct age their children should be, in order to turn car seats into a front facing position. The report goes on to state that 90 percent of all parents knew better when it came to child seat position; however, this didn’t stop them from doing the wrong thing.

Children usually have a lot of flexibility compared to adults. This means that they’re comfortable in any position while in the car. However, a front-facing seat carries numerous risks. In the event where you need to brake suddenly, a child who’s in the front-facing position might get flung forward and end up getting leg, arm or head injuries. By ensuring that they face the correct direction at appropriate ages, you’ll ensure that your child has the lowest chance of being seriously injured in an accident.

Helpful Tips

Here are a couple of tips you can use to keep your child safe in your car:

1. Install booster seats once your child has outgrown his toddler or infant car seat. These booster seats can be used until your child is 8 or reaches a height of 4’9″.
2. Strap your child in: make sure to have your child buckle up by means of seat belts. According to safekids.org, seat belts saved 66,000 lives between 2007 to 2011. It doesn’t matter how far you’re going; even if it’s to the neighborhood mall, seatbelts need to be used at ALL times. Most accidents happen within 10 miles of a person’s home.
3. Children should stay in the backseat until they’re 13 years of age. You can buy them games that will help keep them busy or install a mini TV so they won’t distract you as you drive, but do not put their life in danger simply because they really want to sit up front.

Rasansky Law firm is an Dallas car accident attorney law firm. We have a team of dedicated and experienced lawyers waiting to defend you and your family if you’ve been in an accident that wasn’t your fault. Call us at 1-800-ATTORNEY today, or email us for your free consultation.