Personal Injury Blog

Parents Urged to Check Child Car Safety Seats for Correct Use

September 25th, 2011
Child Car Safety Seats

As many as 90% of all child seats in California vehicles have been installed incorrectly

Last week, law enforcement and transportation safety agencies in California marked National Child Passenger Safety Week.  As part of the commemoration, these agencies encouraged parents to visit inspection services to make sure that they were using their child car safety seats correctly. According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, most parents are restraining their children in car seats, but are doing so incorrectly.

As many as 90% of all child seats in California vehicles have been installed incorrectly.  California’s laws require children to be safely restrained in a child restraint system at least until they are six years of age and weigh 60 pounds.  Obviously, these child seats will not be as effective in protecting the child from injuries in an accident, if these are used incorrectly.

Last week, a survey found that most parents shifted their child from a rear-facing car seat to a front facing car seat before the child’s second birthday.  Los Angeles car accident lawyers and auto safety groups recommend that parents continue to place their child in a rear-facing car seat until the child is two years of age.  Rear- facing car seats have been found to protect children better in the event of an accident.  However, most parents in the survey seemed to be in a hurry to shift their children to front-facing car seats, even though this position is risky to the child.

Last week, the California Highway Patrol sponsored inspection services for parents to learn the correct way to use their child car safety seats.  Other law enforcement agencies also took part in the effort.  September 24 was marked as National Seats Check Saturday.  Now that the special week is over, you can still get your car seats inspected, and learn the proper way to restrain your child in a seat.  Visit www.seatcheck.org, to check out the nearest inspection location.

Car seat usage rates across California have increased dramatically in recent years.  Most parents are now aware of, and respect, the need to secure a child in a child car safety seat or booster seat appropriately.  However, studies show that many of these parents are not restraining their child properly, possibly shifting the child to a booster seat far too quickly, or moving a toddler to a front-facing car seat for too quickly.

Such actions place a child at risk of being injured in an accident.  For instance, when the child is restrained in a front-facing car seat, and the car is involved in a front impact accident, the toddler is at a much higher risk of suffering injuries because his body jerks forward, straining his shoulders and arms against the seatbelt.  That doesn’t happen when he’s in a rear-facing car seat.

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