Child Safety While Driving

By Author: Augustine Joseph
Total Articles: 16
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Driving has become so regular for each &everyone of us every day that we rarely think twice about getting in the car and driving where we need to be at a certain time. People can simply pack the kids in the car and bring them with to the store or even on a longer trip. Though seat belts are supposed to be used, there are other tips that can keep your children safe when you are in the car driving.
Until they’re tall enough to wear a properly positioned adult seat belt, kids will need to use a car safety seat. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), by using those seats, fatal injuries in a car crash is reduced by 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for toddlers, first one should know how to handle infants, toddlers & young children while driving.
Infants: Infants should ride rear-facing at least until they’re 1 year old and weigh at least 20 pounds. Once they exceed the weight or height limit, you can set by their infant safety seat’s manufacturer; they should continue to ride rear-facing in a convertible safety seat.
Toddlers: It’s best to keep toddlers rear-facing ...
... as long as possible. When they’ve outgrown their convertible safety seat rear-facing, they should use a forward-facing safety seat with a full harness, until they exceed the weight and/or height limit set by the seat’s manufacturer.
Young Children: Children who’ve outgrown a convertible safety seat should use a booster seat until they’re at least 4 feet & 9 inches tall who are between the age of 8 and 12 years old and can wear a properly positioned adult seat belt.
Warning: Never put a child safety seat in the front seat of a vehicle and face it toward the rear of a vehicle if that vehicle has a passenger-side airbag.
Use Child Safety Seat properly:
*Kids who are tall enough to wear an adult seat belt should still ride in the back seat until they turn 13 years old.
*Adjust the seat belt so the lap belt crosses the child’s upper thighs and the diagonal belt crosses her/his upper chest and a point between her/his neck and shoulder.
*Do not use the adult seat belt without child safety seat if the child’s height is less than one and a half meters. Please don’t do it.
*Do not put the children in your arm when the vehicle is in motion, which often parents do.
*Do not allow the child stick his head out the window. Don’t never permit you children do it.
*Do not put too many toys in your car. They might cause the secondary injury to the passengers during a collision.
*Most parents do this mistake, but be careful not to do this, never leave your children alone in a car (buckled up or not) while you run for an quick errand.
*The rear seats are safer than front seats for all ages.
*Active the child-proof locks when the child is in the back seat.
Follow these:
Another good tip to follow is to only place small children in the back seat of the vehicle, because most vehicles are equipped with airbags, and small children can be injured badly if the airbag were to deploy. Once your children are older and bigger, they can be allowed to sit in the front seat, but remember allow them to sit only when the seat belt can fit them without a seat belt adjuster.
There are also few other things to keep in mind when keeping your child safe while driving. Especially the way that the child sits may have a lot to do with their safety. Many parents will allow their children to sit on their knees to see over the front seat or to see the road.
Even though this seems like a nice/good thing for the child, it is very unsafe. If a child sits on their knees, they are more likely to have broken bones in their legs if you were to get into a car accident. It is safest if the child sits with their legs out in front of them and looks straight ahead.

Conclusion:
These are a few easy tips that can keep your child safe when you are in the car. By following these guidelines, you are more likely to keep your child safe in case of an accident, and we always want your children to be safe at all times.