Be taught The best way to Keep Your Valuable Cargo Safe During Child Passenger Safety Week

Jackson, Miss. — One-third of youngsters killed in automotive accidents are not in automotive seats, booster seats or seat belts. During Child Passenger Safety Week, which runs September 21-27, the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) is reminding dad and mom and caregivers to put kids within the correct age- and size-appropriate restraints, which cuts severe and deadly accidents by greater than half.

Car seats cut back deaths by 71% for infants and by 54% for toddlers in passenger automobiles. It’s very important to decide on and use the best automotive seat accurately each time your baby is within the automotive as a result of it may imply the distinction between life and demise. In addition to your kid’s age and measurement, discuss with your particular automotive seat producer’s directions and skim the automobile proprietor’s guide on set up.

Mississippi baby passenger security legal guidelines require that kids youthful than 4 years previous use a security seat or related restraint. Children ages 4 to six years previous should use a booster seat if they’re shorter than 57 inches (4 ft, 9 inches) tall, or in the event that they weigh lower than 65 kilos. Adult seat belts could also be used with no booster when the kid reaches 7 years previous, is at the very least 57 inches tall, or weighs at the very least 65 kilos.

Buckle Up Checklist

Birth-3 Years: Using a Rear-Facing Car Seat

• Keep your baby rear-facing for so long as attainable.
• Seats must be put in within the again seat of the automotive, and by no means in entrance of an airbag.
• Children ought to stay in a rear-facing seat till they attain the highest top or weight restrict allowed by the seat’s producer.

1-6 Years: Using a Forward-Facing Car Seat

• Once kids outgrow a rear-facing automotive seat, they’re able to journey in a forward-facing seat with a harness and tether.
• Install it within the again seat. Children might solely be positioned within the entrance seat of a automobile if all rear seats are occupied by different kids. Be certain to maneuver your automobile’s seat way back to attainable.
• Children ought to stay in a forward-facing automotive seat with a harness and tether till they attain the highest top or weight restrict allowed by your automotive seat’s producer.

4-12 Years: Using a Booster Seat

• Keep kids in a booster seat till they’re sufficiently big to slot in a seat belt correctly.
• For a seat belt to suit correctly, the lap belt should lie snugly throughout the higher thighs, not the abdomen; and the shoulder belt ought to lie snugly throughout the shoulder and chest, not the neck or face.
• Children beneath 13 ought to nonetheless trip within the again seat as a result of it’s safer there.

13 and up: Seatbelt

• Teenagers ought to put on lap and shoulder belts in each seating place in a motorcar.
• A seat belt will correctly match a toddler after they attain 4 ft, 9 inches tall, sometimes between the ages of 8 and 12.
• Out-of-position lap belts may cause severe accidents to the backbone, liver, spleen or intestines.

MSDH and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration supply a number of assets geared toward making certain the security of kid passengers, together with the next:

If you desire to assist putting in your automotive seat, a licensed technician can both examine it or present you easy methods to accurately set up and use it. To discover a licensed inspector close to you, go to www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle-safety/car-seats-and-booster-seats#installation-help-inspection

Before hitting the highway along with your baby, examine for remembers to your automotive at checktoprotect.org and to your security seats at www.nhtsa.gov/recalls

The Safe Riders Magnolia Dual Child Passenger Safety Program offers baby passenger security schooling and coordinates the distribution of kid security seats for individuals who qualify based mostly on earnings. To see in the event you qualify for a free seat, please electronic mail us at injuryprevention@msdh.ms.gov

For extra info on baby passenger security, together with step-by-step set up movies, go to msdh.ms.gov/saferiders or name (601) 206-1010.