Published: August 19, 2008 11:56 pm            

Child Safety

Unlocking the mystery of the car seat

FAIRMONT — Age, weight and height — those are the keys to unlocking the mystery of the child car seat, experts say.

Georgia Hatfield adds this tip: “Read your car manual and read the manual that comes with the seat” before trying to install one. She is the regional program director in Clarksburg for the Governor’s Highway Safety Program.

Ensuring that the seat is anchored to the car and that a child is correctly strapped into it takes a little time, but the rewards are great, she and other experts say.

After all, traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for children ages 3 to 19, states the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHSTA). The agency maintains a Web site on safety tips involving children and car seats.

In its “4 Steps For Kids” tipsheet – available on-line at www.nhtsa.dot.gov, the agency’s experts say:

• Use rear-facing infant seats from birth to at least one year old and a weight of 20 pounds.

• Forward-facing toddler seats from age 1 and at least 20 pounds to about age 4 and at least 40 pounds.

• Booster seats from about age 4 and 40 pounds to at least age 8, unless the child is 4-9 (57 inches in height). Booster seats help a child to be protected while wearing a safety belt.

• Lap and shoulder safety belts at age 8 or older or taller than 4-9.

And all children under 13 should ride in the back seat, the NHTSA advises.

Another good Web site on child car safety is kept by the federal Centers for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/childpas.htm), Hatfield said.

An average of four children were killed every day in 2005 in motor vehicle accidents and 504 were injured, the CDC reports.

“Child safety seats reduce the risk of death in passenger cars by 71 percent for infants, and by 54 percent for toddlers ages 1 to 4,” according to a CDC factsheet.

Although commonplace now, the idea of a device to keep a child safe in a car accident — not just restrained to a passenger seat — didn’t spur engineering research until the 1960s.

It was then that “Swedish auto designers finally began to seriously address the problem of child safety in cars” in an accident, said Bill Schnarr.

The problem was containing the acceleration of a body, in this case, a newborn or toddler’s tiny body, in a crash, Schnarr writes at Pregnancy-Place.com, an on-line resource for parents.

Between 1978 and 1985 every state passed a child safety seat law.

West Virginia’s law requires every child under the age of 8 to be in a “child passenger safety device system” unless the child is at least 4-9 and wearing a safety belt, said Sgt. Jay Powers of the State Police.

New child care seats are best, states the New Parents Guide (www.thenewparentsguide.com).

But if a used car seat is going to be used, make sure the seat was made after 1981, which is when strict federal standards became law.

Other points to keep in mind on used car seats:

• Make sure the seat was never in a crash, even if it appears all right.

• Check the manufacturer’s name, model number and manufacturing date. This information can be used to see if there is a recall notice on the seat.

• Never place a car seat near an airbag.

• The NHTSA and Consumer Reports (www.consumerreports.org) keep lists of recalled car seats.

The NHTSA also keeps a list of inspection centers where free inspections are available.

E-mail Bill Byrd at bbyrd@timeswv.com.

        

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