Child Restraints in Car Crashes
Parents obviously want to protect their kids, but everyday events can get in the way of child safety. For example, a parent may get distracted by children fighting or crying in the back seat, and thus look away from the road for a minute. A mother may reach back in an attempt to hand her child a pacifier or food.
Such distracted driving could lead to a car accident. Although most parents do not intend to hurt their children, distracted driving accidents happen frequently. Distractions in someone's own car are a very real problem, and small children may suffer injuries as a result. Sometimes, children are not even buckled into their car seats properly. So when a car crash does occur, children may sustain serious injuries or fatalities.
Child restraints and seat belts can save lives when they are used properly. Since motor vehicle crashes in Georgia and throughout the U.S. are the number one cause of death for children between the ages of three and fourteen, it is important that parents spend time making sure that their children are buckled in and secured properly before turning the car on.
According to SafeKids.org, the misuse of child restraints has led to the death of many children. In a study that looked at 3,442 child restraint systems, about 73% of child seats showed at least one critical misuse, 84% of child restraints showed multiple critical misuses, and 41% were booster seat misuses. The most common misuses were loose harness straps, which are supposed to secure the child to the restraint system, and loose safety belts attached to the child restraint system.
If you are the new parent of an infant, then you should make sure that your child restraint system is secured properly and that you know the child restraint laws in Georgia. Research has proven that the effective use of child safety seats with child restraints reduces fatal injuries by 72% for infants, 54% for toddlers, and 28% for children between the ages of two and six.
Protect your children from suffering injuries in a car accident by making sure they are properly secured. Even if your toddler is held in a child safety seat by a seat belt, injuries are still possible depending on the seriousness of the crash.
If another driver was negligent and caused your child to suffer, call an experienced Georgia personal injury lawyer at Kalka & Baer LLC.
