Georgia PI Attorney Shane Smith Reports on The Latest Child Safety Seat Usage Statistics & Installation Recommendations
When children are in the car, especially young children, they are not familiar with how car safety mechanisms work. This rings especially true for children who cannot walk or talk. This renders them completely dependent upon the adult driving the car itself.
What do the experts say?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) an the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety have compiled the follow statistics:
- For children between one to 12-years-old, auto accidents are the number one cause of this demographics’ death.
- Due to in-correct usage of child safety car seats, 75 percent of children are not as secure as they can be
- Between 2005 and 2009 alone, 807,000 children (under 13 years old) sustained injuries and 6,337 children under 13 years old were killed in auto accidents.
- From 1975 to 2009, 9,310 young children (4 years old and younger) were saved through the use of child-restraint seats
Speaking with a Mountain Park PI lawyer is highly advised, as a legal expert, to determine what damages may exist an if a personal injury claim exists to recover those damages.
Based on these statistics, it seems that using a child-restraint is a no-brainer. With this in mind, how should child-safety restraints be used to secure children and make sure they are in a car safely to reduce the chances of injury or death. The two agencies have general guidelines to help individuals use the right seat for their child and secure it properly based on their child’s age.
Car Seat Facing the Rear
For children under one year old, drivers are instructed to use a car seat facing the seat. Based on the recommendations, obtaining one with a harness and its design helps the seat naturally flows with a child’s movement during the crash, while cradling the child to protect its delicate neck and spine.
Car Seats Oriented Forward
This next seat should only be used when a child can no longer be safely seated in the rear facing car seat. This type of car seat is the safest for children one to seven years old. It works by still using a harness, but this type of seat uses a harness to control the momentum experienced by a child during a car crash.
Booster Seat
A booster seat provides children, aged four to 12 years old works in conjunction with the car’s seat belt.
Based on this information, using the proper restraint can help reduce the chances of injury or death in an auto accident. If a restraint is not used, used improperly or even when a restraint is used, a child may be injured if they are involved in a car accident. When you consult with a Georgia PI lawyer at Shane Smith Law you will understand your circumstances and see what State law entitles you to. Call our law offices today at (980) 246-2656 to understand what you are entitled to by speaking with a Gwinnett County PI lawyer.