Buckle Up! 4 Car Safety Tips for Driving with Children
In the United States, approximately 3 million people each year are injured in car accidents.
As you can assume, children are far more susceptible to bodily injury than adults due to their smaller size and developing bodies. Thus, you’ll need to take extra precautionary measures when you’re driving with kids in the car.
While a car seat is a given, there are a few other steps you can take to help keep the young ones safe.
Not sure where to start? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
Let’s take a look at four car safety tips you need to know.
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Eyes on The Road
Distracted driving plays a huge role in accidents. It can be easy to let your mind slip for a moment, especially if you are traveling with an infant.
The most common culprit, however, is texting.
In fact, someone who is texting while driving is roughly 23 times more likely to be involved in an automobile collision, putting both you and the children in the car at serious risk.
So, make sure you keep your eyes on the road more than normal when you’ve got extra passengers.
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Buckle Up!
Like texting, not wearing your seatbelt while in the car is a habit that greatly jeopardizes your safety. While not wearing your seatbelt won’t make it more likely that you get into an accident, your injuries will be far worse than if you had worn one.
Since children (especially younger kids) are so light, it doesn’t take much force at all for a collision to knock them out of their seat. This can easily result in significant head trauma, spinal damage, and broken bones.
Therefore, there’s no excuse: everyone should be fastened in before the car ever gets put into drive!
If you do find yourself having the misfortune of getting into a car accident, you’ll need to contact a car accident attorney as soon as possible to help get your life back on track.
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Younger Kids Stay in The Back
As kids get older, taller, and heavier, they’ll eventually be able to sit up front with the driver. Younger children, however, should stay in the back seat. Once again, due to their size, small children face the danger of serious injury if a vehicle’s airbag activates.
Smaller children need to stay seated in the back seat of the car (buckled up, of course). The driver should also be vigilant in keeping track of them and making sure they remain in the appropriate part of the vehicle.
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Hold It Down
Loose objects, such as building supplies, tools, etc. quickly transform into deadly projectiles during a car crash. This is especially dangerous for children in the back seat, as they often won’t have anything between them and the objects.
Larger items should be firmly secured in the trunk of the car. If you still need extra room, place these objects underneath the seats to ensure that they don’t get any momentum if a collision were to occur.
Car Safety Tips Are Crucial
Especially for the children in your car.
But, with the above information on car safety tips in mind, you’ll be well on your way to making sure that everyone in the vehicle gets to the destination unharmed.
Want to learn more family tips? Check out the family section of our blog!
