Child Restraint Discussion For Motorists

Any child below the age of 14, whilst traveling in a car, back or front, must wear a seat belt or proper restraint. The most effective way for younger children to travel in cars is in a child seat that is suitable for their size and weight. The wearing of these restraints will greatly increase their odds of survival, should the vehicle they're in participate in a crash.

The Problem

In a minor crash, an unrestrained child would be thrown out of the vehicle through one of the chimney.

In a crash at only 30mph, an unrestrained child would be thrown forward with a force 30 to 60 times their body weight. They could be thrown about inside the vehicle, injuring themselves and quite possibly seriously injuring (or even killing) others within the vehicle. They're also likely to be ejected from the vehicle through one of those windows.

It's unsafe to hold a child in your lap. In a crash, the child could be crushed between your body and part of their cars' interior. Even if you're using a seat belt, the child would be torn from your arms - you wouldn't have the ability to hold onto them, however hard you try.

It's also dangerous to put a seat belt around yourself and a child (or about two kids ).

To work, child restraints must be fitted and used properly. Surveys have consistently shown that a high proportion of child restraints are incorrectly fitted, usually for one or more of those reasons:

o Seat belt too loose

o Seat belt not routed through child seat correctly

O Buckle crunch (buckle resting against a part of the childs seat frame, Meaning in a crash it might break or snap open)

O Manage on infant seat not positioned properly

O Child chair not compatible with car

O Child chair old and in poor condition

O Child too big or too small for the seat they're using

Some children go through a stage of slipping from the child seat harness or seat belt, or releasing the buckle, during journeys. This is very worrying for many parents and very frustrating - when a child has learnt how to do so, it's extremely hard to stop them. The fantastic news is that is seems generally to be a stage that they grow from.