Why are young children at such a high risk in auto accidents?
When children are in the car, they must be well protected by either a booster seat or a seat belt, depending on the child’s age. When it com sot auto passenger safety, statistics show that children are the forgotten ones.
Children under the age of 10 are most susceptible to injury in an auto accident because they are wearing adult seat belts when they probably should be in booster seats, according to statistics from the Advocates for Highway Safety, a nonprofit highway safety group, and the Child Passenger Safety Study, a joint venture among State Farm Mutual Automobile Co., the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania.
Approximately 500 children between the ages of five and nine die each year in auto accidents and nearly 100,000are injured, according to statistical evaluations made by Judith Lee Stone, president of Advocates for highway Safety.
Stone claims, “While a great deal of attention has been paid to child safety seats for infants and toddlers, much less attention has been paid to those aged between 4 and 8 and older.”
Less than 20 percent of the children between the ages of four and eight are restrained properly, according to the Child Passenger Safety Study. The statistics evaluated one main key idea: children aren’t safe enough in cars.
Many parents think that their children are safe and that they will be completely fine when they turn 10 or older. As a matter of fat, many children, even those who are 10, probably still need to sit in booster seats.
The need for booster seats is addressed by the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Transportation (TREAD) says Tim Hurd, a spokesperson for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Children are in great danger when it comes to driving in cars. Sadly, booster seats might not be the solution, either. What matters is a thorough explanation to your child that will describe why being in the car is dangerous.
Did you ever hear of an invention that could lift the child up from the vehicle’s seat instead of a booster? Some children are just too big or perhaps too old for booster seats, that’s why this is such a convenient thing to have in the car for a child. It would allow children to have a platform so that the adult seat belt would be more comfortable for them to adjust.
In order to prevent serious injuries or fatal auto collisions, it is important that you have the proper coverage. Another great way to avoid serious collisions is by purchasing a safe car. Take a look at your car. Does it have good safety features?