In these hard economic times, when parents have a new child on the way, it is often tempting to use a hand-me-down child safety seat or a used child seat purchased from a second hand store but, did you know that child safety seats have expiration dates?

It is a little known fact that child safety seats have expiration dates; usually six years from the manufacture date. There is a very good reason for this. Child safety seats are made from synthetic, petroleum based plastics and fabrics. While these materials are excellent for this purpose and make for a very strong and reliable child protective seat, they are subjected to a lot of harmful environmental factors that can weaken them over the years.

Most child seats remain in the car and internal temperatures inside the car in the summer can easily reach 130 to 140 degrees and over time, this can lead to a breakdown of the plastic materials. Exposure to the sun is also harmful. Synthetic fabrics, especially nylon don’t tolerate long periods of direct exposure to the sun very well. When exposed to the sun over long periods, the synthetic fabrics can become brittle and break; not something you want a safety belt to do.

Read more about: Summer Heat Warnings - Never Leave Children Alone in Cars

So, while a used seat may look perfectly fine, there may be damage that is too small to see that can grow over time. Your little passenger is too precious to take that chance. Most seats have the expiration date embossed in the plastic on the bottom of the seat. When considering a used car seat, check the expiration date and make sure that your child will have outgrown it before it expires.

Parents should also remember that children who outgrow the child safety seat should graduate into a booster seat until they are at least 4’9” tall. Lots of kids are graduated to seat belts too early and their small frames prevent the seat belt from fitting properly low over their hips. If the belt should rise up over their abdomen, they could be injured in a crash.

For more information on child safety seats and booster seats, visit the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety at: http://www.iihs.org/research/topics/child_restraints/default.html

For help in learning how to properly install and use a child seat, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a web site that can direct you to a trained Child Passenger Safety Technician in your area who can teach you how to install your seat, answer any questions you may have, and give you additional information on child safety seats. To locate a Child Passenger Safety Technician, visit: http://www.nhtsa.gov/cps/cpsfitting/index.cfm

Labels: child safety, child safety seat, child safety seats, seat belt safety, seat belts

In September, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended that states to pass more comprehensive child restraint laws to cover children up to eight years of age. The NTSB cited Florida, which only requires child restraints for children up to the age of three, as having the weakest child restraint laws in the nation. The NTSB also called on twenty one states to pass legislation requiring the use of booster seats.

Automobile crashes are the leading cause of death for children from age three to fourteen. In 2008, 297 children under the age of four lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes. Of those 297 children, 32% were totally unrestrained.
Parents could potentially be placing their children at risk while driving. A study conducted in 2002 by State Farm Insurance and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia added weight to previous studies showing that 83% of children are graduating from child safety seats to adult seat belts too early.

The problem lies in the different ways that seat belts fit around an adult's body compared to the way they fit around a child. When properly belted in, the seat belt should fit low over a vehicle occupant's hips. In a crash, the belt will provide restraint by pushing back against the relatively hard surface of the occupant’s hip bones. If the belt were to sit higher across the soft tissue of the occupant's abdomen, it could cause significant damage to internal organs and could, in severe crashes, actually cut into the occupant's abdomen. Seat belts on children, with their small frames, tend to ride high over the child’s abdomen. The 2002 study refers to this as the "Seat Belt Syndrome" in children. The seat belt syndrome has contributed to abdominal and spinal injuries in children. The studies found that children between the ages of 3 and 9 were at greatest risk of seat belt syndrome. The problem is compounded by the way shoulder harnesses fit over children. Instead of sitting properly over a child’s shoulder, the shoulder harness tends to ride across their neck and rub against their face causing many to place the shoulder harness behind them.

The answer to this problem is quite simple but, for some reason, the word isn’t getting around. The studies show that once children outgrow their child safety seats, they should graduate to a booster seat. Booster seats raise the child’s body to a position that allows the seat belt to ride low over their hips the way they are designed. Booster seats can also help to properly position the shoulder harness so that it provides maximum protection. The American Academy of Pediatrics published guidelines that say children should remain in booster seats until they are 4'9" in height or, on average, from 9 to 11 years of age. Their website also has guidelines on the proper use of child restraints from infants to teens.

In spite of campaigns by the insurance industry and guidance from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), only 13 states and the District of Columbia have passed booster seat laws that comply with federal guidelines. There are modified booster seat laws in 25 states and 12 states have no child restraint seat laws at all for children beyond 4 or 5 years of age.

When considering a booster seat for your child, remember that all booster seats are not created equally. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducted crash tests and published a list of the best and worst booster seats that are currently on the market. The IIHS website also has pictures showing how lap belts and shoulder harnesses should fit to provide maximum protection. The best seats provide proper height adjustment for the lap belt and keep the shoulder harness away from the abdomen and over the shoulder where they belong. The IIHS also has a list of state laws regarding child restraints.

It is critically important to remember that keeping a child restrained in an adult seat belt is better than no restraint at all. The word about booster seats is slowly getting around and more and more parents are using them every year but the percentage of children in booster seats is still far too low.

Labels: booster seat, booster seat laws, child restraint laws, child safety, child safety seat, child safety seats

Secretary Calls for New Car Seat Side Impact Safety Standard

Recently, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that it would implement a new consumer program to assist parents and caregivers in finding a child seat that fits in their vehicle. The new program comes on the heels of an exhaustive review ordered by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to improve child passenger safety and Federal child seat standards.

Secretary LaHood also ordered the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to develop a new side impact safety standard for car seats. Side impact crashes make up one-third of all highway deaths of children under thirteen years old.

The internal review found that current standards, which require child seats to withstand forces that are more severe than 99.5 percent of real-world crashes, are effective. Still, Secretary LaHood urged NHTSA to do better.

"Infants and children are our most precious cargo," said Secretary LaHood. "We need to constantly improve our track record and help parents to choose a child seat that fits in their vehicle."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration task force, which examined child safety regulations, was made up of a team of 30 experts. They cautioned that while current standards offer a high degree of protection, the agency should consider adding a first ever side-impact standard for child safety seats. It also recommended research on future improvements to the current frontal impact standard.

Beginning with the 2011 model year, the NHTSA will institute the new program to make it easier for parents to choose child safety seats. Car manufacturers will recommend specific seats for individual vehicles in various price ranges that fit. Car manufacturers including Nissan and others in Europe already offer similar recommendations.

The review also discovered that 50% of all children between the ages of zero to seven years of age who died in motor vehicle crashes were not in child safety seats.
"A child safety seat cannot do its job if it's not used at all," said Secretary LaHood. "Parents and caregivers need to make sure their children are buckled up properly and child seats are installed correctly."

Did you know that courses are available to educate drivers on the rules of the road and the latest defensive driving techniques? Try one now!

Labels: car seats, child safety seats