According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), car crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 13.
Because of the risk, parents of newborns cannot even leave the hospital without a car seat.
Safety specialists report that a new national car seat rule is making car seats that much more effective.
“Snap,” “buckle,” and “click” are typical sounds many parents hear each day in the back seat.
“I’ve seen a lot of kids get injured from crashes,” said Kayla Hart, outreach liaison and injury prevention for trauma at Manning Family Children’s.
“We’ve seen a lot come into the trauma center where the parents may have had the kids’ car seat installed in a front seat. They may have had them turned around too prematurely,” she continued.
Hart specializes in making sure kids are safe in the car, teaching car seat installation each month.
“You have to check to make sure it’s the right direction for the seat, if it’s supposed to be rear-facing or forward-facing,” she said.
“You have to check the location. Make sure that the location in the car is right for the car seat,” she said.
NHTSA reports that car seats save lives — more than 300 small children each year, and small children are particularly vulnerable to side-impact crashes.
“That’s actually one of the most common accidents,” said Hart.
“They can suffer spinal injuries. They can suffer injuries internally when the seatbelt is on their stomach when it’s supposed to be on their lap,” she said.
Beginning on June 30, all new car seats are required to pass a new side-impact test, simulating a T-bone collision at 30 mph.
The goal: save children’s lives.
“That’s so important, just so that we can test car seats. And make sure that even if that kid is sitting on the outer board. That the car seat is safe. Safe enough to use in a car. Safe enough in every position,” said Hart.
The federal rule change applies to newly manufactured child seats designed for children weighing under 40 pounds.
If you are not currently on the market for a new car seat but still want to replace your old one, there are resources to cover costs, like checking with your insurance.
“Then there’s a lot of research that comes out, especially on the Safe Kids Worldwide website, about different types of recalls on seats, and different types of seats that are out and meeting the new standards,” said Hart.
If you already own a car seat, no need to throw it out just yet.
Child seats are still highly effective as long as they have not expired, are not being recalled, and are installed correctly.
If you would like to check your car seat or make sure it’s installed correctly, Manning Family Children’s hosts a car seat safety event every third Tuesday of the month.
If you want to trade in your current car seat for a new one that has been side-impact tested, Walmart and Target both offer trade-in programs.
Resources for parents: https://www.safekids.org/
READ MORE:A new rule for kids car seats goes into effect soon. Here’s what parents need to know
