Keeping your child safe in the car is not only about safe driving. Even the most cautious driver can get into an accident through no fault of his or her own. The second part of safety in the car is proper seating, which can prevent injury from car accident. Let’s go over a few general safety principles regarding child seating.
- Two passengers should never share a seatbelt. Only one seat belt per person. Sharing seatbelts ensures that neither person is positioned correctly and is liable to cause injuries to both should an accident occur.
- A child should never be held on the lap of an adult. The force of an accident could crush the child or send the child out of the adult’s arms.
- A child should never just wear a lap belt. It exposes his or her abdomen to serious injury in the event of a crash.
- Children should always sit in the back seat if the car is equipped with a passenger-side airbag.
- If the child does use a seatbelt, it should always fit properly. We’ll discuss this in more detail later.
- Adults riding with children should always wear seatbelts themselves. After all, kids learn many lifelong habits, good and bad, from copying their parents and other adults in their lives.
For more on child safety in cars, check out the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.