Shocking Statistics About Child Car Safety
Did you know, car crashes are the leading cause of death for American children under 13? The American Academy of Pediatrics claims that more than 5,000 children and adolescents die every year in car crashes, making up 15% of auto fatalities per year. For every fatality, more than 400 injury victims will require medical treatment.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a stunning 3 out of 4 children are not properly restrained in their vehicles.
A third of child injuries in auto accidents result from children who were not restrained at all.
Everyone is at risk of auto accidents. No matter how safe of a driver you are, you share the road with others. Accidents occur due to drunk drivers, distracted driving, unsafe weather conditions, and more. You can be sitting at a stop light and someone rear ends you, because they were texting a friend.
Auto accidents are incredibly dangerous, as even at slow speeds it can be about like falling from a third floor window.
Auto accident injuries are often severe and catastrophic for adults. However, car accident injuries are more severe for children, since their bodies are still growing and developing.
Here are three questions to ask yourself:
- Am I properly restraining my child, based on age-appropriate recommendations?
- Am I positive that my child seat is properly installed?
- Should I have my car seat inspected to ensure it works?
What are child restraint best practices?
The Indiana University School of Medicine promotes an Automotive Safety Program, where they have provided best practice recommendations for child passenger safety.. Generally, they recommend leaving your child in a rear seat until they reach 13 years of age.
Prior to that time, some form of booster seat or car seat is recommended until your child is the proper height to securely fit within the vehicle's seatbelt restraint.
Their recommendations by age group are as follows:
- 1-12 Months - Use a rear-facing car seat.
- 1-3 Years - Continue using a rear-facing seat until your child reaches the top height or weight allowed by the manufacturer's recommendations.
- 4-7 Years - use a forward-facing seat until reaching max height/weight recommended by the manufacturer; After out-growing the seat, use a booster seat.
- 8-12 Years - Maintain using a booster until your child is able to properly fit in a seatbelt.
James Ryan Turner, Experienced Injury Lawyer in Florence, KY
"As a father of (soon to be) three children, I know how important it is to find the right car seat for your child. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has provided this guide to finding the right car seat based on age, height and weight. I highly recommend you try their car seat finder tool.
How To Properly Install A Car Seat
The government's NHSTA website provides a wealth of resources for parents looking to ensure they are properly securing their children. Their website includes installation guides for forward and rear-facing car seats, manufacturer recall notices and the ability to find car seat technicians near you.
Their installation guides are the official golden standard for maximizing child passenger safety.
Parents of 1-3 year olds can watch this guide for installing a rear-facing car seat:
Why You Should Have Your Car Seat Inspected
So many parents don't know that there are (usually free) car seat safety inspectors that can inspect your car seat to ensure it has been properly installed. Perhaps you're a new parent, and you'd like an experienced professional to go over your work. Even if you're a parent on your third, it still helps to have a second opinion.
One critically important thing to note: if you have been in a collision of any kind whatsoever, you need to make sure that your car seat is inspected. Even low speed collisions require a safety inspection to ensure the equipment has not been compromised in any way.
If you would like to find a car seat inspector near you, click the map above or this link to the NHSTA.gov website.
What To Do If Your Child Was Injured In An Auto Accident
Auto accidents are incredibly serious. If you have been in an auto accident, we provide a general guide for what to do in the aftermath of a car wreck..
However, if a young child is involved, it becomes even more important to emphasize the need to seek medical attention immediately.
Even if your child is not immediately showing symptoms, ask your doctor when you should schedule a follow-up appointment, since many auto accident injuries do not show their symptoms immediately.
Younger children, especially, are not always able to articulate (or use spoken words) the nature of their injuries, so working with your pediatrician is absolutely vital.
It is especially critical to have a car seat inspected after an auto accident where your child is injured. The cause of injury may be a defective car seat, and this adds the additional scope of becoming a product liability injury case.
If your child was injured in an accident where the other driver was at fault (examples: rear-ended at a stoplight, asleep at the wheel, trucking accidents, drunk drivers), always focus on medical treatment first. Additionally, you need to speak to an experienced Kentucky child injury attorney. This process is incredibly stressful, but the experienced child injury lawyers at Dallas & Turner, PLLC can walk you through the process and help ensure you and your child are taken care of.
Don't hesitate. Call our office immediately at 859-630-0666 or use our free case evaluation form to provide us details of your case, and we guarantee to reach out to you within 24 hours. Our consultations don't cost you a thing, but they will give you the peace of mind of knowing you and your child are in good hands.
James Ryan Turner, Experienced Injury Lawyer in Florence, KY