New Child Safety Seat Recommendations
March 21, 2011 - New recommendations pertaining to child safety seats were issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today. Earlier recommendations said that children should ride in rear-facing safety seats until their first birthday. Now, the medical organization and the federal agency are recommending that children stay in rear-facing car seats until they are 2. In addition, both groups are saying that kids who outgrow front-facing safety seats should ride in booster seats at least until they can fit into a lap-shoulder harness. It is well-established that booster seats aid in positioning adult seat belts properly on the smaller body sizes of children. When a child reaches a height of 4 feet 9 inches he or she can usually move safely into a booster seat. Guidelines issued by both organizations say that children 12 and under should ride in the back seat of a vehicle. Studies have shown that poorly fitting seat belts on older children can cause spinal and abdominal injuries in car accidents. Pursuant to a 2007 analysis of crash data, researchers found that 1-year-olds are five times less likely to receive
injuries in car accidents if they are in rear-facing seats instead of forward facing seats. Therefore, about 1000 children who sustained
personal injuries in a car accident may not have been injured if they were in a rear-facing safety seat. Small children have relatively large heads and thin necks. The force of an impact can whip the child's head and cause
spinal cord injuries. Car seats are required to have labels indicating recommended weights. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that if a 1-year-old exceeds the recommended weight of an infant seat, parents should move the child into another rear-facing seat that can accommodate the child's weight until he or she turns two. Most car seat manufacturers have increased the maximum weight seats can safely hold. A decade ago, rear-facing safety seats only held children weighing 22 pounds or less. Today, about 50% of all infant rear-facing car seats can hold up to 30 pounds. If you or a loved one have been injured in a car accident, please call an experienced
Sonoma County Personal Injury attorney for a free consultation. You will be connected directly to one of our helpful attorneys who can discuss your case with you.