Staten Islander's Should Check Their Child Car Seats
It’s undisputed that seat belts save lives and prevent serious injuries in car crashes. New York State requires that adults riding in the front seat wear seatbelts and children be in booster seats or child safety seats. Every child between the ages of 8 and 16 years of age must be restrained, no matter where they are sitting in the car. Much confusion exists as to what type of seat your child needs to be restrained in and until what age. Child safety seats are the most important piece of safety equipment that you have in your car. After all, they protect your greatest assets – your children. Never let your child ride in a car without being properly restrained. It’s the law. Following these rules will reduce the risk of your child being severely injured in a car accident in case you are ever involved in one.
- Infants - you can place an infant in either an infant seat or a rear-facing convertible seat until they are at least a year old and weigh at least 20 lbs.
- Toddlers/Preschool age children - a child this age should be placed in either a rear-facing or forward-facing convertible car seat. Children should stay in the convertible seat in its rear-facing position for as long as possible but after they are over a year old and over 20 lbs you have the option of turning the convertible car seat to face forward.
- School age children - starting at the age of 4 children who have outgrown their forward facing car seats and weigh more than 40 lbs can be put in a booster seat. They must continue to use a booster seat until they are 8 years of age and are at least 4'9" in height or weigh 100 pounds.
- Older children - once your child is old enough and fills the height and weight requirements to ride in the car without a booster seat they should continue to ride in the back seat of the car with a seat belt on until they are 13 years old.
Despite the recommendations, you may be surprised to learn that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that as many as 80% of child safety seats are improperly installed – that’s 8 in 10 seats! Take the time to read the instruction manual that came with the seat as well as your vehicle’s owner’s manual to familiarize yourself with proper installation.
Newer cars use terms like LATCH and Top Tether. LATCH is a standardized installation system for your child’s safety seat. LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren. LATCH includes two lower anchor attachments and a top tether. Most people commonly refer to LATCH as the pair of fixed lower anchors built into the crack between the seat back and seat cushion. These attachment points are specifically designed for child safety seat installation. When used, the vehicle’s seatbelts are no longer necessary to install the child safety seat. The idea is to make it easier to install child safety seats safely, and to make installation universal among child safety seats and vehicles and eliminate the variables involved in installing car safety seats with common seatbelts. LATCH can be found on infant seat bases, rear-facing, front-facing and combination booster seats that have an internal harness. It requires a specific LATCH belt with two locking clips on the side. Some LATCH clips require that they be specifically installed on the driver’s side of the car so its important that you become familiar with your child’s safety seat.
A top tether (or top strap) is the supplemental attachment strap on the top of forward facing car seats but is not frequently used by consumers. Top tethers can be used with either the seat belt or with the LATCH anchors. A top tether is an adjustable strap that connects the top of the child safety seat to an anchor point mounted in the vehicle behind the child safety seat, usually the shelf below the rear window or on the floor of the cargo area in many SUV’s. The Top Tether is designed to prevent the forward movement of the top of a forward-facing child safety seat in a frontal crash. This reduces the head movement of the child, and can reduce the chances of a severe injury.
If you are still unsure if your child’s safety seat is properly installed, take the time to go to a local safety seat inspection location to have a professional check your child safety seat’s installation. The safety check only takes about 15 minutes and best of all, its free. To locate a safety seat inspection station you can enter your zip code or you can call 1-866-SEAT-CHECK. Following these rules will reduce the risk of your child being severely injured in a car accident in case you are ever involved in one.
