Child Passenger Safety Week

DESPITE CONSTANT PROGRESS IN TERMS OF VEHICLE SAFETY, ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS STILL REPRESENT THE NUMBER ONE CAUSES OF FATALITIES AMONGST CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 10.

Regardless of it being law educate and inform South most cars are designed for that every child under African road users of the adult passengers 150cm the age of 3 be securely dangers of travelling on our and taller, leaving children strapped into a car seat, roads with children who are between the ages of 4 and a shocking 93% of motornot securely strapped into a 12 years old requiring ad ists, taxi and bus services car seat, as well as ensuring ditional support in the form flaunt this law, which is not the car seat they use has of a booster seat. effectively enforced by local undergone the minimum “Children under 150cm and national police. The crash testing required. are not safe just being majority of injuries, through Strapping our children into a secured by a seat belt, they car accidents, are due to a well secured car seat needs are physically not devel complete lack of any kind of to become something every oped enough to be secure,” child safety restraint. single one of us do, no mat says Bilson. “The lower belt

An adult holding a child ter how short a car trip we doesn’t sit on their hips, in their arms provides are doing!” as it is intended to do with absolutely no protection in While children under adults, and rather ends the event of an accident. the age of three are legally up around their abdo In a crash at a speed of required to be securely men, which can result in 50 km/h, body weight is restrained in a car seat, fatal internal injuries in the increased by around 30 standard seat belts in case of a crash. The upper times. For example, a child weighing approximately 30 kg turns into a projec tile weighing a ton. At the point of impact, no-one is capable of restraining them. The strength of the impact is equal to falling three stories.

“Child Passenger Safety week runs internation ally from the 7th to the 11th of September, and we at Maxi-Cosi really want to get people talking about the importance of our children’s safety in motor vehicles in South Africa.,” says Debbie Billson, Operations Director for Maxi-Cosi. “We want to

section of the belt rests dangerously across their neck, as opposed to being on their shoulder, and can easily break a child’s neck in the case of an accident! A simple booster seat can prevent unnecessary injuries and deaths.”

South African consumers are fortunate to have a large selection of well-tested, reasonably priced car seat options, there is no excuse not to be using one! “The average car seat costs a measly 1% of the value of most cars in SA,” exclaims Billson. “For the average lifespan of a car seat it works out to less than R2 per day to ensure your child is safe – there honestly is NO EXCUSE to not be securing your child into a car seat every time they get into a vehicle!”

Here are a list of safety tips to ensure you are using your car seat as effectively and safely as possible:

Always use a car seat, even on short trips

It’s obvious, and it’s the law, but we still sometimes see children travelling without a car seat. Accidents can happen, even on the shortest trips. Many children are taken on trips of less than 3km without being strapped in, therefore, if unrestrained, an impact can prove fatal from speeds of 20km/h. In the event of an accident when a child is not restrained by a safety device, the risk of being ejected from the car is 6 or 7 time greater.

Avoid second-hand car seats

You can never be sure a second-hand car seat is a safe car seat. You don’t know if it’s been damaged in an accident, or has pieces missing or has been misused in any way.

Use the correct size car seat

It’s best to buy a car seat for your child based on their current height and weight. Investigate and consider all your options when purchasing a seat that claims to cover multiple age groups. Your child must travel in a car seat that is the appropriate size for them. This will ensure adequate safety for your child if you are ever involved in a collision

Make sure the safety harness is at the right height and not twisted

The harness should always be adjusted to the correct height setting which is at shoulder height. Check there are no twists in the straps. Incorrect height placement of the harness often results in children unbuckling themselves, escaping from the seat, head flops and potentially the harness could slip off during a collision.

Use a rear-facing car seat for as long as possible

It’s safest for babies and toddlers to stay in a rearfacing car seat until they are at least 15 months old. It doesn’t matter if their legs stick out, but if their heads are higher than the seat shell, they need the next size. The neck of a child matures with age, and not when it reaches a certain stature or mass. Up until 15 months, the baby’s neck is not yet developed enough to withstand the impulsive force of an average frontal collision because of its relatively heavy head. The excessive pressure on the neck of the baby might lead to serious neck injuries. When travelling rearward facing, the forces of a frontal collision are better spread over a greater area of the body of the baby, which leads to less pressure on the head and neck.

Beware of activated frontal airbags

The safest place for a rear-facing car seat is on the back seat. This avoids the danger of front airbags inflating against the seat. Deactivate the front airbag if you use your car seat on the front passenger seat and place this seat in the further most position.

Keep loose items off the rear parcel shelf

In an accident, even small loose items can turn into dangerous projectiles. Tuck them away safely. For more information about Child Passenger Safety Week: www.facebook. com/childpassengersafetyweek/.