Child Safety in Cars

Posted on January 28, 2008
Filed Under child |

The safety car is serious business
The most frequent cause of childhood death in car accidents. Children who are not properly fastened with seat belts or those who are not sitting in a chair specifically for them can be seriously injured or even killed in a car accident. The relatively large weight of your head makes them particularly vulnerable if they leave off the front.

New rules
The entry into force of the new card that provides points for driving without a seat belt carry and ‘other elements of safety’ can mean the loss of 3 points. The child seat is already mandatory.

Who should be restrained in the car?
In fact, all the occupants of the vehicle, according to recent standards. And of course, all children, whatever their age. This is true both for newborns to adolescents. The driver of the car is the person responsible for checking that everyone wear a seatbelt.

If a child is accustomed to be restrained in his chair, no protest to sit in the chair for children in another car.

What security measures are established for the babies?
The baby must be secured in the car as follows:
* You must use a child seat specially designed for babies. This must be placed in the copilot’s seat, facing the back. This will happen only if the car does not have airbags for the driver or if you can disable the airbag when a child is in this seat. The front seat should move back to the full. Must be a minimum distance of 20 cm between the dashboard and the seat to avoid injuring the child in the event of a frontal collision.
* If the car has airbags for the driver and can not be disabled, the child should be sitting in his chair, but in the back seat of the car.
* Both the front seat in the rear, a child must be restrained with a belt of three anchor points.
* Remember that a baby can not sit in a chair for children over 20 or 30 minutes a day because your back muscles are not yet fully developed. If the child does not go by car all day can make a long trip on an occasional basis, with periodic breaks.
* If the child’s head over the top of the seat means the seat is too small for him.
* You can also place a baby in a crib that is subject notebook (with handles hard). Secure the portable crib with a special belt that has cars, or one of safety belts with three anchor points to the car. You must place a safety net over the crib to keep the child off the outside in case of a collision. The portable crib should be placed with the child’s head was located toward the center of the car, reducing the risk of injury in case the vehicle is involved in a side impact.

Safety measures for children 9 months to 5 years
Children with a weight between 9 and 18 kg can sit on chairs approved for children and if you look back in the copilot’s seat, or looking backward or forward if you’re in the back seat. It is safer for children to sit facing the rear. The chair of the child should be subject to seat belts with three anchor points of the car and must comply with precise instructions fasteners.

Safety measures for children 3 to 6 years
The children of this age and weighing between 15 and 25 kg should be in the rear seat in a chair for children, approved, and that it is restrained by safety belts with three anchor points of the car.

Children with a height greater than 140 cm can use safety belts standard car, but they must be seated in the backseat of the car.

Why are airbags dangerous for children?
Airbags were designed to protect adult weighing about 75 kg. The airbag, when inflated, are very powerful and are placed so low that could choke a child who was placed in front of it.

If your child is under 12 years, should never sit in the front seat in case of carrying on an airbag in front of him. If your child is over 12 years and wants to sit in the front seat, move the seat back to the full.

You should never put a child seat in the passenger seat if the car has a passenger airbag. In some car drivers to disconnect the airbag, but you must activate it again when using an adult seat.

What is considered a safe seat for children?
A chair suitable for children must meet safety standards. There are different safety standards, but something common to all is that the chair should not have been manufactured before the year 1981, since then the requirements have changed from those of today.
* The standard is the standard British BS.
E * the standard is the European standard of approval. In it there is no special requirement to the protection of the child’s head.
* The standard is the standard Danish DS. Contains European approval and other requirements relating to the protection of the child’s head.
T * the standard is the standard Swedish. It is the most difficult to obtain and is limited to the chairs of children who are placed facing the rear.

Is it sufficiently securing a second-hand chair?
Parents should make sure that the children using the chair were manufactured after the year 1981 which meets the current requirements for security.
* Make sure the chair has not been subjected to any car accident. Examine in detail the chair to see if there are cracks or marks and make sure the belt is full.
* Buy a chair only if it is approved by a set of standards for child seats.

What safety precautions must be taken in a car?
Driving a car is one of the most dangerous activities that can make a person. Therefore, it is clear that we must take special precautions when driving with children.
* Before you start driving, make sure the child seat is properly fastened with the belt.
* Do not place anything under the child who is in his chair, as this would not be protected by the belt in an accident.
* If the belt is too loose it should be adjusted to suit well to the body of the child. If the child is very loose in the saddle, you can put a couple of rolled towels on each side of the child. There is the possibility of buying cushions specially designed for this purpose.
* All infants who are in a car should be insured in a chair right for them. All older children and adults must wear a seatbelt.
* The driver should not start to see that all occupants are properly fastened.
* Passengers must be quiet in the car as it screams can annoy the driver and create an unnecessary danger.
* Only the child’s parents or other adults should unbuckle and buckled up the children. Parents should not teach the child how to do it, because it could loosen the belt alone.
* If the child is unbuckled the seatbelt, you must park in a safe place and stay there until the child returns to be bound properly.
* If the child is constantly unbuckled his seat belt, put a new closure that he can not hold.
* Do not carry large or heavy objects in the back seat or the tray of the car because it could come off in a forward collision and injuries to passengers. These objects should be stored in the trunk of the car.

You must never leave a child alone in his chair as it might hurt, or to move, place the head by accident under the belt, with a risk of suffocation.

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