Why should parents learn about car safety and kids?

From the time your new baby comes home from the hospital, until they are driving with their own driver’s license, parents need to learn how to maximize their kids’ safety in the car. Most parents don’t know how to use their child’s car seat correctly. Too many school-aged kids are in danger because they don’t use a booster seat. Some kids are in danger from air bags because they ride in the front seat before they are big enough to do so safety. Inexperienced teenage drivers are often overtired, driving under the influence, overly confident in their abilities, or aren’t paying attention because they’re distracted by their friends. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of accidental death for all young people from one-year-old babies through teens [1] [2]. Too many motor vehicle deaths and injuries could have been prevented. Here you’ll find the information and tools you need to keep your child safer on the road—whatever their age.

My child already has a good car seat. Do I need to read any of this?

A recent study showed that the majority of car seats are being used incorrectly [3]. There's a good chance that yours is one of them. Read on to find out more.

What do I need to know about car seats and child passenger safety?

The American Academy of Pediatrics Car seat guide:  safety and product information will get you started on how to shop for and correctly install a car seat.

• Make sure your car seat can be installed correctly in your car, and fits your child’s size and weight.
• A car seat can be found unsafe and recalled at any time, even years after it was made, so return your registration when you buy a new seat, and check for recalls regularly. Find out more: What are safety seat recalls?
• All children—even school age kids—should ride in the back seat, especially if your car has air bags.
• You should keep your baby under one year old in a rear-facing seat even if they are over 20 pounds. Some infant and convertible seats can be used rear-facing at higher weights.
• If your car seat was in a crash you should not use it, even if it looks okay.  It may have been weakened.
• Keep your child in a car seat for the longest recommended time.  Don’t “graduate” them before they reach both the recommended age and weight.

When should kids use booster seats?

When children outgrow forward-facing child safety seats, they need to use belt-positioning booster seats—until they are big enough to fit properly in an adult seat belt. Most children are between 9 and 13 years old before they grow into the height range in which seat belts fit safely—about 4’9’’ in height.

• Learn more about booster seats from this brochure: The Forgotten Child: Children Who Move to Seat Belts Too Soon

When using the car’s safety belt with or without a belt-positioning booster seat, keep in mind these guidelines:

• Never tuck shoulder belts under a kid’s arm or behind their back.
• Make sure the lap belt fits tightly and sits low on the hips, not across the stomach.

What about car seats for children with special health care needs?

Children with special health needs may have special car seat needs. Special car seat needs may arise with premature infants, children with conditions such as spina bifida or cerebral palsy, or children with a broken bone in a cast. Work with your pediatrician, specialty health care provider, and a nationally certified child passenger safety technician to choose the best option for your child.

• On the road, kids with special medical needs require extra consideration is a UMHS press release that provides information and resources available at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.
  

What is LATCH?

LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children. It is a car safety seat attachment system that has been developed to make car safety seats easier to use and safer. It makes correct installation easier because with LATCH, you don't have to use seat belts to secure the car seat in your car. Starting in model year 2002, most new cars and most new car safety seats come with lower anchors and attachments. Keep in mind, though, that unless both the vehicle and the car safety seat have LATCH, seat belts will still be needed to secure the car safety seat. Unfortunately, this system can be confusing for parents—so make sure you are familiar with how it works. Both the lower anchor and the upper tether must be attached securely. Find out more about how to use LATCH correctly on this page from the NHTSA:

• Are you using LATCH right?

How can I find out more about car seat and child passenger safety?

• Avoid the common mistakes in car seat installation: Find out: Is your safety seat secure in the car? The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) explains how to properly select, install and use all the different types of safety seats.
• Car seat check-up and recalls: Online car seat checkup from Safety Belt Safe USA helps you make sure your car seat fits right and is adjusted and installed correctly. This website also has pictures of many car seats to help you figure out the brand and make of your seat so you can check to see if it has been recalled. For more information to make sure you’re using your seat right, see Are You Using it Right?, which is also available in Spanish.
• More links:  Visit these child passenger safety links from the NHTSA for more information. This page also has a handy car seat/booster seat chart with information on what kind of seat is right for each age/size child.

Visit the NHTSA's child seat recall campaign for up-to-date information on recalls or to report a car seat problem.

What other dangers do cars pose to kids?

" In the US, at least 72 children were backed over and killed in 2003; (more than one child per week) often by a relative in their own driveway, and often by a larger vehicle such as a van, SUV or pickup truck."
- Janette E. Fennell, Founder & President of Kids And Cars

Find out more about backover accidents, the dangers of leaving kids in cars during warm weather, injuries from power windows, and other preventable car-related causes of injury and death to kids under age 14 at the Kids and Cars website.

Children should not be left alone in the car in any kind of weather. Find out more about the dangers of leaving kids alone in the car.

What about teenage drivers?

Brand new, 16-year-old drivers are at the greatest risk of having a motor vehicle crash, according to CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) statistics. Between 2000 and 2003, 77% of accidental deaths among 16- to 19-year-olds were caused by motor vehicle traffic accidents, according to the CDC. In 2003 alone, that was 4733 young lives cut short [4]. Car crashes are also a leading cause of disability related to head and spinal cord injuries in this age group. The AAP has a a policy statement on The Teen Driver, that discusses the extent of the problem, risk factors, and interventions, including the parents’ role.

• Road Ready Teens is a new program for teen drivers. Following this program can help your teen be better prepared to safely get behind the wheel.
• Teen crash statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Citations

Written and compiled by Kyla Boyse, R.N. Reviewed by faculty and staff the University of Michigan.

Updated April 2007

U-M Health System Related Sites:
Department of Psychiatry
U-M Pediatrics

Our editorial policy
The information and links we provide are reviewed by University of Michigan developmental and behavioral pediatricians and child psychologists who are experts in child behavioral health. In choosing the links we provide, we use strict criteria to ensure that the information is accurate, and the source is reputable. As much as possible, we focus on information that is based on research. In areas where there is inadequate research, we include information compatible with prevailing expert opinion.

This website is updated regularly, but because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, we cannot be responsible for misinformation that may be accessed through the links provided. As always, this website is not a tool for self-diagnosis, and is not a substitute for professional care.

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