[Update] Car seat can prevent child fatalities during collisions

“An astounding test showed that at 40km/h a blow to a child’s head is the same as dropping him/ her onto concrete from a height of six metres.”

October 9, 2016

Bianca Pindral 2 minutes read

Putting your child in a car seat before travelling in a vehicle can reduce their chances of being killed in the event of a collision by approximately 71 per cent for infants and 54 per cent for toddlers. Photo:Pixabay

They are your little bundles of joy. The start of a new life. The long-awaited assurance of the survival of your family name. They are your children.

A spitting image of you and your life partner. There is never a guarantee they will make it to adulthood, but small changes in your daily life can give them a better chance to learn, grow and have children of their own.

In light of the recent death of a four-month-old baby who died after being flung from a vehicle during a collision on the N14 near Tarlton, an educational channel launched a statement informing road users about child passenger safety.

The statement starts off with shocking statistics that reveal the fourth leading cause of unnatural deaths in South Africa is collisions.

Luckily there are chances to reduce these statistics.

“We believe that this figure could be reduced by about half if the correct child safety seat is always used when travelling with children in a vehicle,” David Roache, member of an insurance company said.

It is also believed car seats can reduce the passenger death rate by up to 71 per cent for infants and 54 per cent for toddlers.

Even in a minor crash, an unrestrained child would be thrown around inside the car and in extreme cases be flung from the car through one of the windows.

“An astounding test result showed that at 40km/h, a blow to a child’s head is the same as dropping him/ her onto concrete from a height of six metres,” David said.

A small change like strapping your children in a car seat can increase the possibility of their growing up happily.

ER24 offered some advice to parents travelling with children:

• Infants should ride rear-facing at least until they are a year old.

• Once they exceed the weight or height limit set by the manufacturer of the infant safety seat, they should continue to ride rear-facing in a convertible safety seat. It is best to keep toddlers rear-facing as long as possible.

• When they have outgrown this seat, they should use a forward-facing safety seat with a full harness. This should be used until they exceed the weight and/ or height limit set by the manufacturer of the seat.

• Children who have outgrown a convertible safety seat should use a booster seat until they are at least 120cm tall.

• Children who are tall enough to wear an adult seat belt should still ride in the back seat until they are 13 years old. Adjust the seat belt so the lap belt crosses the child’s upper thighs and the diagonal belt crosses the upper chest at a point between the neck and shoulder.

“We’ve heard some heart-wrenching stories of avoidable injury and loss of life, and we want to help prevent more incidents wherever possible,” David said.

“One simple change. You decide.”