AAA-The Auto Club Group is reaching out to drivers, making sure they are providing a safe ride for their young children by properly installing car seats.
“Three out of four car seats today are installed incorrectly,” said Michele Harris, director of traffic safety culture at AAA, in a release. “Too often, we see kids who are in a car seat that’s installed incorrectly, or not using an age-appropriate booster seat.”
One of the most frequent car seat mistakes is the positioning of the harness straps, Harris said. If straps are too loose, children will not be properly restrained in the event of a crash. This may subject them to higher crash forces, or even ejection from the seat altogether.
Harness straps should lie flat and not have any twists. The harness should be snug enough that one cannot pinch any extra material at the child’s shoulder.
With schools back in session, carpooling among parents increase obviously, which can result in situations where children are not riding in a car seat or booster seat. A recent AAA Consumer Pulse survey found that 45 percent of people surveyed in Florida agree it’s difficult to make arrangements to have booster seats available for other people’s children.
That survey was conducted Aug. 22-29 from a sampling of 400 people. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
The use of booster seats can reduce injuries by 45 percent compared to using an adult seatbelt alone, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Children who have outgrown their five-point harness car seat by weight or height should use a booster seat until they reach 4-foot-9, typically between the ages of 8 and 12.
For younger children using a five-point harness car seat, many hospitals offer car seat installation classes, and car seat inspection stations provide certified child passenger safety technicians to inspect seats to make sure they are installed properly. It find an inspection station, visit SafeSeats4Kids.AAA.com.
Beginning Jan. 1, every driver in Florida will be required to use a child restraint device for children up to the age of 6, AAA said.
