Tighten That (safety) Belt

By Author: Rob Parker
Total Articles: 311
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Can you name the most important safety feature in your car? Is the air bags? No. Perhaps it's the braking system? No again.
The most important safety feature in your car is the under-appreciated, often overlooked, sometimes intentionally avoided safety belt. As a child, you probably hated fastening your own seatbelt. As an adult, you may find yourself having to coax your own children to wear theirs. Don't give up! Safe passengers grow up to be safer drivers, and seat belts are a crucial element of automobile safety.

It's easy to remind you to make your child wear a seat belt, but in addition to merely buckling it, there are other things you should know about keeping your children safe when they are passengers in your car. Here, then, are some tips, courtesy of the National Highway Safety Administration (NHSA):

Kids in the Back Seat - Children under the age of twelve should always sit in the back seat, so they are far away from the air bags. While an air bag can save an adult's life, the force of their deployment, and the height at which they deploy, can seriously harm a small child.

Infant Seats.. ...
... Babies under a year old, and under twenty-two pounds should be in a rear-facing infant seat secured into the back seat of the car, and if you only have a two-seat car, it's important to de-activate the passenger-side airbag if a child seat will be there. Also, never have the restraints higher than shoulder level, or at an angle greater than 45 degrees.

Face Forward. When your infant becomes a toddler, and reaches a minimum of twenty pounds, you can put them in a forward-facing car seat (though it should still be secured in the back seat of the car.) The same rules for strap angles apply.

40 Pounds. The threshold for using a booster seat is at forty pounds, and they can be used until your child is about eight years old, or a maximum of 4'9" tall (by the time they hit that age, they'll be objecting to the booster pretty strenuously). At this point you can use the lap and shoulder belt, but make sure the straps don't go across the neck, face or arm - serious injury can occur if they do. (If your car has a lower setting for the seatbelt, use it.)
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The Big Chair. The normal adult restraint system is allowable once your child reaches that 4'9" height, and is over eight years old. Again, you need to make sure the straps are never across the stomach or neck. Also, never allow your child (or any passenger) to put the shoulder strap behind their back. The lap restraint alone is not enough.

Most modern cars now come fitted with a tethering system for car seats, and the option to lower the position of shoulder straps. You can also buy belt guards for use with smaller adults and older children that help keep the seatbelt in the correct position. If you're using any of these devices, make sure you read all the product information first.

The most important safety feature (other than the seatbelt) however, is you. Institute the rule that the car will not move until everyone is belted in, and enforce it. You'll be safer for it, and so will your children. For general information on the proper use of child restraint devices, always consult the instructions that come with your child safety seat, as well as the information provided by your vehicle's owner's manual.