Child Passenger Safety

Did you know:

Car crashes are the leading cause of preventable injury or death for children in the United States.
Correctly used child safety seats can reduce the risk of death by as much as 71 percent.
3 out of 4 car seats are not used or installed correctly.

Safety Tips

Choose the right car seat. When buying a car seat remember to making sure it fits your child, weight and height.

The American Academy of Pediatricians recommends:

Children should ride in a rear-facing car safety seat as long as possible, up to the limits of their car safety seat. This will include virtually all children under 2 years and most children up to age 4.
Once they have been turned around, children should remain in a forward-facing car safety seat up to that seat’s weight and length limits. Most seats can accommodate children up to 60 pounds or more.
When they exceed these limits, child passengers should ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until they can use a seat belt that fits correctly.
Once they exceed the booster limits and are large enough to use the vehicle seat belt alone, they should always use a lap and shoulder belt.
All children younger than 13 should be restrained in the rear seats of vehicles for optimal protection.

Install your car seat

To learn how to install your car seat, you can schedule a car seat installation appointment with a child passenger safety technician at the Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida. Please call our Child Advocacy Department at 239-343-5101.

Install the car seat either with a seat belt or lower anchor but not both. When installing forward facing remember to use the top tether.

For more help in selecting and installing a car seat, use the Ultimate Car Seat Guide.

Properly fit the harness

Use a 5-point harness that goes over the shoulders and around the hips, buckling at the crotch and chest. then tighten. Move the chest clip to armpit level.

Make sure the harness fits snugly on the child by doing the pinch test at the shoulders. Your fingers should slide off the harness webbing. If you pinch the harness webbing the harness is loose and needs to be tightened. Check the labels for harness weight and height maximums.

When rear-facing, the harness must be at or below the shoulders. For forward-facing, the harness must be at or above the shoulders. Once your child has outgrown the car seat harness, move him to a booster seat.

When to change the car seat

Check the car seat labels for the weight, height and age limits of the car seat. Once your child has outgrown the rear-facing car seat, move them to a forward-facing harness car seat then to a belt positioning booster seat with a lap and shoulder belt.

Your child is ready for the seat belt only when they pass the 5-point booster test:

Sits all the way back on the vehicle seat without slouching
Knees bend over the edge of the seat
Feet touch the floor
Lap belt sits low at the hips and not on the stomach
Shoulder belt fits across the body and sits on the shoulder and not high on the neck or face.

Replace the car seat if it is expired, recalled, has been in a crash or is damaged. Check with the car seat manual for more information or car seat manufacturer if you have any questions.

You will need the car seat model number and date of manufacture, which is found on a label on the side, back or bottom of the car seat.

For more information click here.

To schedule a car seat install please call our Child Advocacy Department at 239-343-5101.

Choosing a Car Seat

Choose the best protection for your child based on their age, height and weight.

Rear Facing Seats

Use rear-facing car seats as long as possible, until your child reaches the upper weight or height limit allowed by the car seat’s manufacturer.*

Check to be sure:

The child sits facing the back of the car in the car seat.
The car seat is reclined according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Rear-facing only car seats:

Should never face toward the front of the car.
Usually have removable bases and carrying handles for convenience.

Convertable car seats

Use rear-facing until the child reaches the maximum height or weight allowed by the manufacturer. Then use forward-facing.
Can often be used rear-facing for children up to 40-50 pounds, depending on the model.

Forward Facing Seats

When children outgrow their rear-facing seats (by weight or height, whichever comes first), they should ride in forward facing car seats with harnesses until they reach the upper weight or height limit of seat or harness. The upper limits can range from 40—90 pounds, depending on the model.

Check to be sure…

The top of the child’s ears are below the top of the car seat.
The top tether strap is hooked to a designated tether anchor and pulled snug.

Booster Seats

Once children outgrow the harness of their forward facing seats (by weight or height, whichever comes first), they should ride in booster seats until the seat belt fits properly on its own.*

Check to be sure…

The child always rides in a booster seat using a seat belt with both lap and shoulder belts.
The lap belt sits low on the child’s hips, not on the stomach
The shoulder belt crosses over the shoulder and collar bone, not on the neck, under the arm or behind the back.
The seat belt is snug, lays flat and is comfortable on the child.

Seat Belts

Children should stay in booster seats until they are large enough for the lap and shoulder seat belts to fit properly. This usually occurs when a child is 8 to 12 years old and about 4’9″ tall. If the belts do not fit properly, continue to use a booster seat.

The child always uses a seat belt with both lap and shoulder belts.
The lap belt sits low on the child’s hips, not on the stomach.
The shoulder belt crosses over the shoulder and collar bone, not on the neck, under the arm or behind the back.
The child’s back fits firmly against the seat back when the knees are bent at the front edge of the seat, and that the child can sit this way for the whole ride.
The seat belt is snug, lays flat and is comfortable on the child.

Important Information

The child is within the age, height and weight limits specified by the car seat’s manufacturer.
The harness straps are in the right set of slots according to the manufacturer’s instructions and are snug enough that you can’t pinch any slack at the collar bone after it has been buckled.
The chest clip is at armpit level.
The car seat is secured tightly in the car and doesn’t move more than 1 inch when you pull on the it where the seat belt goes through it.
The car seat is installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions using either the vehicle’s seat belt or LATCH system. DO NOT USE BOTH.
Always read and follow your vehicle owner’s manual and the car seat instructions carefully.
NEVER install a car seat in the front seat of a vehicle that has an active air back. The back seat is safer for all children.

Resources

Heatstroke

Never leave your child unsupervised in the car.

Every 10 days a child dies in a car from heatstroke. More than half of the time the caregiver forgot the child was in the car.
A car heats up 19 degrees in just 10 minutes. Cracking the window doesn’t help.
A young child’s body heats up 3-5 times faster than an adult’s.

Never Leave Your Child Alone in a Car

Did you know that a child’s body heats up 3 to 5 times faster than an adult’s? It only takes a few short minutes before a child can become dangerously overheated.

In just 10 minutes, a car’s temperature can increase by 19 degrees – and it continues to rise.

In 2010, more than 49 children died while alone in a vehicle. It did not have to happen, and to make sure that it doesn’t happen to you or someone you know, download tips on preventing hyperthermia and help spread the word! For more information on preventing child heat stroke deaths, please visit www.safekids.org/heatstroke.

Prevent heatstroke by remembering to ACT.

Together, we can cut down the number of death and near-misses by remembering to ACT.

Avoid heatstroke-related injury and death by:

Never leaving a child alone in a car, not even for a minute.
Consistently locking unattended vehicle doors and trunks and make sure to keep your car locked when you’re not inside so kids don’t get in on their own.

Create reminders and habits that give you and your child's caregiver a safety net:

Establish a peace-of-mind plan. When you drop off your child, make a habit of calling or texting all other caregivers, so all of you know where your child is at all times.
Keep a stuffed animal or other memento in your child’s car seat when it’s empty, and move it to the front seat as a visual reminder when your child is in the back seat.
Place a purse, briefcase, gym bag, cell phone or an item that is needed at your next stop in a back seat.
Set the alarm on your cell phone or computer calendar as a reminder to drop your child off at childcare.

Take action if you see an unattended child in a vehicle: Dial 911 immediately and follow the instructions that emergency personnel provide – they are trained to determine if a child is in danger.

For more information, click here.

Do your part!

If you see a child in a car on a hot day make sure to call 911 immediately, but we also need you to share information about prevention with everyone in your community.

It’s the Law!

The state of Florida is one of many states where it is against the law to leave a child alone in the car.

According to state law, a parent, legal guardian, or other person responsible for a child younger than 6 years of age may not leave such child unattended or unsupervised in a motor vehicle:

For a period in excess of 15 minutes;
For any period of time if the motor of the vehicle is running or the health of the child is in danger

Violations of the law can result in fines, imprisonment and loss of child custody.

Front Over & Back Over

Each year emergency rooms treat 9,000 because of injuries in and around vehicles. Many times these tragedies occur in driveways or parking lots and the driver is often a family or friend of the child.

Take a few seconds before you get in the car to walk all the way around your parked car to check for children.

Designate a safe spot for children to wait when nearby vehicles are about to move and make sure the drivers can see them.

Accompany little kids when they get in and out of a vehicle. Hold their hand while walking near moving vehicles, in driveways, parking lots or on sidewalks.