Florida Personal Injury Lawyers Blog
The Town of Chester Police will be hosting a free child safety event Saturday to help parents understand what they must do to keep their kids safe while traveling in an automobile.
The event, funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with a grant from the NYS Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 8 at the Town of Chester highway garage on Laroe Road.
Officers will be demonstrating how to properly install safety seats, as well as inspecting car seats. They will explain the benefits of using rear-facing seats, offer helpful tips and share other useful transportation information.
For more information call the police department at 469-7000 ext. 1.
You may be surprised to hear that car accidents are the number one cause of death in children ages 3-14 in the United States. Car accidents are traumatic, which is why children of all ages need special attention when riding in a car. Most adults fail to realize that it can take up to 12 years for a child to grow out of a car seat and be big enough to use safety belts. It is recommended for children to stand close to 5 feet tall and weigh between 80 and 100 pounds before using a seat belt. Until a child reaches that size and weight, car seats and booster seats need to be used to protect them in case of a collision.
So, just how effective are child safety seats? According to Safe Kids USA, child safety seats can be the difference between life and death should your child be involved in a serious automobile accident. Child safety seats reduce fatal injury by as much as 71 percent in infants and toddlers in passenger cars. When compared to seat belts, child safety seats reduce the risk of injury among young children by as much as 82 percent and fatal injury by 28 percent. The use of booster seats for children ages 4 to 8 reduces the risk of non-fatal injury by 45 percent compared to seat belts.
As a parent, it is vital to make sure you educate yourself on how to properly use child safety seats so that your children will be as safe as possible whether you are driving long or short distances. The following tips can help you stay informed and up to date on how to properly restrain your child:
• Make sure every occupant riding in your car is properly restrained every time you take a trip, whether it is a quick drive to the grocery store or a road trip to Disney World. Children are recommended to ride in the back seat until they are at least 13 years old.
• Children should remain in a car seat as long as they are within the height and weight requirements labeled by the manufacturer. Always read the manufacturer’s guidelines and follow their recommendations.
• Children over the age of 2 who have outgrown their rear-facing safety seat should be placed in a forward facing car seat until they outgrow it.
• As parents, we trust that child safety seats will keep our loved ones safe, sometimes these products fail to live up to their expectations. Always be on the lookout for recalls and safety notices that may involve your car or booster seats by checking www.recalls.gov.
If your child has been injured in an auto accident due to another person’s negligence, an Orange County Auto Accident Injury Lawyer at Whittel & Melton can help you secure the compensation you need to rebuild your life. To schedule a free consultation, call us today at 866-608¬-5529 or contact us online.