Common Errors To Avoid When Buckling Junior In

Erica Peterson recently learned a life-saving lesson when a safety check of her SUV revealed that the seat belt securing her infant son's carrier was too loose. As a result, her child could have suffered serious injuries or death if the seat slid during an accident.

"You see this seat belt? There is too much slack, and so it doesn't secure the baby's seat tight enough," said Detective Barbara Matthews of the Cocoa Beach, Fla., Police Department. "You have to pull the 
vehicle's seat belt until it locks, then correctly use it to install the infant safety seat into place."

According to Matthews, who often speaks to the public about child safety issues, a parent must pull additional slack out of the seat belt so the infant seat is tight and secure. Once installed, the carrier should not move more than an inch away from the vehicle seat. Easy as that. With one simple click of a five-point harness buckle over his chest, little Sy Peterson, age seven months, was ready to travel safely.

"I just learned a lot," said Erica Peterson, 25. "Especially about the seat belt and how important it is to tighten it up."

Matthews also advises that parents not install infant or booster seats in front of air bags. This can cause injury or death to young children if the air bags deploy. Because SUVs now have air bags on the side panels by the back seats, too, infant seats should be installed in the middle. A couple of other tips for ensuring child car seat safety are:

• When fitting straps and the five-point harness, your hand should 
  be able to glide underneath the strap, but just barely. It should be 
  tight, but not so much so that there is no room to maneuver.
• Make sure infant and booster seat tags remain attached.
• Because not every infant or booster safety seat fits well inside 
  every vehicle manufactured, read your automobile's manual for the 
  vehicle and safety seat information that relates to you.
• Used and second-hand booster safety seats can be unsafe. It may 
  have been in a previous crash or contain parts that have since been 
  recalled because of safety risks. Get a new one if you can.
• Be sure to check buckles, belts and other metal or plastic seat 
  items that can become extremely hot during summer months before 
  putting your little one into a car seat.

Studies show that most parents think they know what they are doing and don't take the time to read the manual, which can be a serious error in judgment, no matter how careful you otherwise are. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional death for children 14 and younger. Data from Safe Kids Worldwide, a national coalition for unintentional-injury prevention among children, shows that 76 percent of car seats on the road today are used correctly.

"Frequently, child safety restraints are installed incorrectly or the child is placed in a restraint that is not appropriate for their age and size. In vehicles we inspected or surveyed, we found there is dramatic misuse, such as infants being transported in the front seat in front of air bags," said Michelle Fischer, co-coordinator for the Florida branch of the National Safe Kids Coalition.

Fischer said her group also found many child-passenger restraints installed improperly, along with a tremendous population of children ages 4-8 riding with adult seat belts instead of booster seats. Laws 
in most states require children ages 4-8 to use belt-positioning booster seats if they are under 4'9" in height. Such seats should always be used in conjunction with a lap and shoulder belt. To emphasize the seriousness of the laws, many states are prosecuting violations of these laws. Along with the District of Columbia, 34 states have some form of booster seat legislation.

"Many parents don't know the correct car seat for the developmental stage of their child," Fischer said. "For example, infants should ride rear-facing until they are at least 1 year of age and a minimum of 20 pounds."

Children less than a year old or that weigh less than 20 pounds should be in a rear-facing child seat in order to ensure safety. In most cases, kids  can ride in forward-facing safety seats with a five-
point harness until they reach age four. It is of monumental importance that parents realize their position -- determining what is negotiable for their children and what is not. Whether your children are restrained properly in the event of a collision is not a game. It could save their lives.