Child Passenger Safety Week

“Vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for children. From 2012 to 2016, there were 3,268 children under 13 killed while riding in passenger vehicles…” Even worse is that one-third of the children in these accidents were not even wearing a seat belt. These deaths are preventable with the proper safety precautions.

This is why The National Highway Traffic  Safety Administration felt it necessary to dedicate September 23rd to September 29th to Child Passenger Safety Week.

Did you know that kids should not switch from a booster seat to a regular seat belt until they  are between “8 and 12 years old and around 4 feet 9 inches”? This is due to the fact that they should be able to rest their head against the seat while being able to bend their knees over the seat before doing so.

According to the NHTSA “When installed correctly, car seats can reduce the risk of fatal injury in a crash by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers”. These numbers are huge and could save your child’s life.

Here is a graph NHTSA supplied showing the proper ages in comparison to the proper car seat.

Child passenger safety is never something to take lightly. If your child or a child you know was involved in a car accident feel free to schedule a free consultation with Glisson Law at 618.462.1077.