According to National Highway Safety Administration (NHSTA), motor vehicle crashes stand as the primary cause of deaths for kids 3-6 and 8-14. It is the duty of the parents to protect their children against injury while they are traveling by taking proper safety measures.
One way to protect kids against injury is by using a child car seat. It is fastened to the seat of vehicles to secure children if an accident happens.
A Brief History of Car Seats
When car seats were first manufactured in 1933, they were not designed to protect children in the occurrence of accidents. Instead, they were used to confine children and raise them over the passenger seat level. This will make them more visible to the driver. An actual safety seat for kids was made in 1962 by Jean Ames.
Types of Child Car Seats
In choosing what type of car seat to use, it is best to consider the child's size and the kind of vehicle where it will be put on. Here are some types of car seats that are usually used today:
Rear-facing seats
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggested that all infants should use rear-facing seats as early as their first ride home. They should use this until they reach at least 20 pounds. They should also use this until they reached at least one year old.
Examples of rear-facing seats are convertible rear-facing and infant only seats.
Forward-facing seats
Once a child already reached the maximum weight allowed for rear-facing seats, he or she use can use forward-facing seats.
Children are advised to use seats that are forward-facing until they outgrow it. This stage often happens when they reach 4-years-old and 40-65 pounds. Here are five kinds of forward-facing safety seats:
* Built-in seats- Some vehicles already have built in seats that are forward-facing. Weights and heights may differ.
* Convertible seats- These seats can be converted to forward-facing after they are used as rear-facing.
* Combination of booster and forward-facing seats- These may be used with or without a harness as a booster for kids who weigh 40-65 pounds.
Booster seats
Booster seats are used by children who have already outgrown forward-facing car seats. They are designed to raise a child up so that shoulder and lap seat belts will properly fit.
Children can continue to use booster seats until they can fit in shoulder and lap seat belts.
Defective Car Seat Resulting to Injury
Although a car seat is designed to protect children, it can also become a source of injury when it has defects. Some of its usual defects include:
* Flammable materials
* Unexpected rotation
* Weak construction and shell separation
* Defective handles
If your child was injured due to a defective car seat, contact a personal injury lawyer immediately.
To help you pursue claims for injuries caused by defective car seats, consult with our expert personal injury lawyers. Visit our website and avail of our free case evaluation.
