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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (March 6, 2019)
Blue Mountain Eagle A6 Wednesday, March 6, 2019 MARCH 2019 CAR SEAT SAFETY TIPS The best way to keep your child safe in the car is to use the right car seat in the right way. Here are some car seat safety tips to protect your most precious cargo. HARD FACTS ABOUT SAFETY IN CARS • • • Road injuries are the leading cause of preventable deaths and injuries to children in the United States. Correctly used child safety seats can reduce the risk of death by as much as 7¹ percent. Three out of four car seats are not used or installed correctly. TOP TIPS ABOUT CAR SEAT SAFETY Your baby needs to ride in a rear-facing car seat as long as possible until 2 or more years. When your child has outgrown that seat, you are ready for a forward-facing car seat. You’ll need to decide on using either the seat belt or lower anchors to secure your car seat. Both are safe, but don’t use them both at the same time. Once your child is forward facing, it is important to use the tether with the seat belt or lower anchors. A properly-fitted harness gives the best possible protection for your child. Look on the car seat label to make sure your child is still within the weight, height and age limits for that seat. CAR SEAT SAFETY TIPS For the best protection, keep your baby in a rear-facing car seat until 2 years old or more. You can find the exact height and weight limit on the side or back of your car seat. Kids who ride in rear-facing seats have the best protection for the head, neck and spine. It is especially important for rear-facing children to ride in a back seat away from the airbag. • When your children outgrow a rear-facing seat after age 2, move them to a forward-facing car seat. Keep the seat in the back and make sure to attach the top tether after you tighten and lock the seat belt or lower anchors (LATCH). Use the top tether at all times. Top tethers greatly reduce your car seat’s forward motion in a crash. • Kids can remain in some forward-facing car seats until they’re 65 pounds or more depending on the car seat limits. Check labels to find the exact measurements for your seat. Discontinue use of lower attachment when your child reaches the limits set by your car seat and car manufacturers. Continue to use the top tether. You must read both manuals to know about those limits. Not to worry: Once your child meets the lower anchor weight limits, you will switch to a seat belt. Seat belts are designed and tested to protect all adults as well as children in car seats and booster seats. It is the safest place to ride for all children under age ¹ 3. Not all cars allow for a car seat in every place that has a seat belt. Check your car owner manual to see where you can put a car seat. • • • Look at the label on your car seat to make sure it’s appropriate for your child’s age, weight and height. Your car seat has an expiration date. Find and double check the label to make sure it’s still safe. Discard a seat that is expired in a dark trash bag so that it cannot be pulled from the trash and reused. • Buy a used car seat only if you know its full crash history. That means you must buy it from someone you know, not from a thrift store or over the internet. Once a car seat has been in a crash, or is expired, it needs to be replaced. Road injuries are the leading cause of preventable deaths and injuries to children in the United States. Correctly used child safety seats can reduce the risk of death by as much as 7¹ percent • • • Inch Test. Once your car seat is installed, give it a good tug at the base where the seat belt goes through it. Can you move it more than an inch side to side or front to back? A properly installed seat will not move more than an inch. Pinch Test. Make sure the harness is tightly buckled and coming from the correct slots (check your car seat manual). With the chest clip placed at armpit level, pinch the strap at your child’s shoulder. If you are unable to pinch any excess webbing, you’re good to go. For both rear- and forward-facing car seats, use either the car’s seat belt or the lower anchors and for forward-facing seats, also use the top tether to lock the car seat in place. Don’t use both the lower anchors and seat belt at the same time. They are equally safe- so pick the one that gives you the best fit. IS IT TIME FOR A BOOSTER SEAT? • • • • Take the next step to a booster seat when you answer “yes” to any of these questions: Does your child exceed the forward-facing car seat’s height or weight limits? Are your child’s shoulders above the forward-facing car seat’s top harness slots? Are the tops of your child’s ears above the top of the car seat? If the forward-facing car seat with a harness still fits, and your child is within the weight or height limits, continue to use it until it is outgrown. It provides more protection than a booster seat or seat belt for a small child. • Toys can injure your child in a crash, so be extra careful to choose ones that are soft and will not hurt your child. Secure loose objects and toys to protect everyone in the car. • We know that when adults wear seat belts, kids wear seat belts. So be a good example and buckle up for every ride. Be sure everyone in the vehicle buckles up, too. Buckling up the right way on every ride is the single most important thing a family can do to stay safe in the car. • • • Never leave your child alone in a car, not even for a minute. While it may be tempting to dash out for a quick errand while your babies are sleeping in their car seats, the temperature inside your car can rise 20 degrees and cause heatstroke in the time it takes for you to run in and out of the store. Leaving a child alone in a car is against the law in many states. To comply with this section: A person who is under two years of age must be properly secured with a child safety system in a rear-facing position. A person who weighs 40 pounds or less must be properly secured with a child safety system that meets the minimum standards and specifications established by the Department of Transportation under ORS 8¹ 5.055 (Rules establishing standards for safety belts, harnesses and child safety systems) for child safety systems designed for children weighing 40 pounds or less. Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, a person who weighs more than 40 pounds and who is four feet nine inches or shorter must be properly secured with a child safety system that elevates the person so that a safety belt or safety harness properly fits the person. As used in this paragraph, “properly fits” means the lap belt of the safety belt or safety harness is positioned low across the thighs and the shoulder belt is positioned over the collarbone and away from the neck. The child safety system shall meet the minimum standards and specifications established by the department under ORS 8¹ 5.055 (Rules establishing standards for safety belts, harnesses and child safety systems) for child safety systems designed for children who are four feet nine inches or shorter. A person who is taller than four feet nine inches must be properly secured with a safety belt or safety harness that meets requirements under ORS 8¹ 5.055. Notwithstanding paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subsection, a person who is eight years of age or older need not be secured with a child safety system but must be properly secured with a safety belt or safety harness that meets requirements under ORS 8¹ 5.055. SafeKids Oregon has posted a new item, ‘Welcome to Safe Kids Oregon!’ HOME SAFETY FOR BABIES. For the first several months of your baby’s life, you’ll be spending much of your time at home. Your baby will be crawling, teething and discovering new things every day. It’s really a magical – and exhausting – time. As you spend time enjoying your baby’s expressions and responses, take a moment to [...]. You may view the latest post at www.safekidsoregon.org 97649
