By Linda Beaulieu
University of
Georgia
When I think back on how I transported my infant son many years
ago, I’m horrified. I now realize how little thought I gave to
protecting him when we traveled.
I consider myself to be a good mom with a good dose of common
sense. But I wasn’t given any information on the subject. So I
went on my merry way in ignorance.
Keeping kids safe is now my passion. If your children are
unrestrained in the car and I see you in a parking lot, don’t be
surprised if I stop and chat a minute. I’ll most likely offer my
services to help get your children safely in the car.
You see, I’m a certified child passenger safety technician. I
teach people about child passenger safety for the Georgia Traffic
Injury Prevention Institute and the University of Georgia
Extension Service.
It’s embarrassing
It’s embarrassing for me to admit that I didn’t put my son in his
child safety seat at all times. I have a vivid memory of the
first time my dad came to visit his new grandson. Dad got into
the passenger seat, and I handed him my son to hold while we
traveled.
Neither my Dad nor I was belted in, and my precious child wasn’t
strapped in either. I’m thankful we weren’t involved in a car
accident that day. We all could have been ejected from the car
and seriously injured, possibly even killed.
Statistics show that most of the time, if the driver buckles up,
the rest of the passengers will follow suit. Research also shows
that infants properly restrained in infant safety seats are 71
percent safer from fatalities than those unrestrained.
Back seat riders
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration
recommends that children younger than 13 sit in the rear seats of
a vehicle. Infants should ride facing the rear in the vehicle’s
back seat until they’re at least 1 year old and weigh 20
pounds.
A safety belt spreads the force of a crash across the strongest
parts of your body. It helps keep you from being thrown from the
car. Properly worn, the shoulder strap should cross your
collarbone and your torso, and the lap belt should fit snugly
across the tops of your legs.
If the shoulder belt touches your arm, move slightly toward the
middle of the seat. This may give some relief. Never resort to
placing the shoulder strap under your arm. This will put the
force of the crash over your ribs and reduces your upper body
protection.
Use shoulder strap
Never place the shoulder strap behind you, either. You could
suffer head injuries from striking something in the car, such as
the steering wheel or the dashboard.
A 40-pound child who has outgrown her toddler safety seat doesn’t
fit into a standard vehicle safety belt. A child doesn’t normally
fit into the vehicle safety belt until she is about 4 feet, 9
inches tall and around the age of 8.
To adjust, place the child in a booster seat that raises her up
so the belt fits properly. This also allows the child to see out
the windows. Always use a lap-shoulder belt when using a child
booster seat. Never use a lap-only belt with a booster seat.
Need another reason, besides safety, to buckle your children into
their safety seats? In Georgia, it’s the law!
(Linda Beaulieu is the southwest Georgia regional coordinator
with the Georgia Traffic Injury Prevention Institute and the
University of Georgia Extension Service.)
