Taking a look at child safety

Injuries from motor vehicle collisions a leading cause of death for Canadian children

Seat belts save lives. This is a saying we’ve heard over and over again. But what about car seats for children? According to health promotion specialist, child passenger safety at Child Safety Link, Katherine Hutka, injuries from motor vehicle collisions are a leading cause of death for Canadian children.

“We also know that these deaths and injuries can be prevented or reduced,” said Hutka. “The right car seat, booster seat, or seat belt used in the right way, can reduce the risk that a child will be hurt or killed in a car crash by as much as 71 per cent.”

The IWK Health program, Child Safety Link, spans The Maritimes and focuses on reducing the rate and severity of unintentional injuries to children and youth at home, on the road, and at play.

What is the right way to adhere to child passenger safety? What are some mistakes parents might be making? We asked these pertinent questions from Hutka, and certified child passenger safety technicians, Loreatha Boehner and Amber Robinson from Wagners Law Firm. Here are some things to think about.

THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CAR SEATS AND HOW TO USE THEM

According to Loreatha Boehner, whose practice area includes car accident injuries, it is the law in Nova Scotia (and other provinces) that children travelling in vehicles are safely secured in a car seat or booster seat that meets their age, weight and height requirements.

To this end, parents have four options, each with specific age, weight and height considerations. You’ve got your rear-facing car seat, forward-facing car seat, the booster seat and the seat belt. Here are the descriptions for each, as laid out by Boehner: • Rear-facing car seat:

“An infant must be secured in a rear-facing seat until they’re at least 1 year old and 10 kg (22 pounds).” • Forward-facing car

seat: “A child must be at least 1 year old and 10 kg (22 pounds) before using a forward-facing seat. A child must remain in a forwardfacing seat until they’re a minimum of 18 kg (40 pounds).”

• Booster seat: “A child must weigh a minimum of 18 kg (40 pounds) before moving to a booster seat. The child must continue to use a booster seat until they’re 145 cm (4 feet 9 inches) tall or 9 years old.”

• Seat belt: “According to the law, a child can use an adult seat belt when they’re either 9 years old or 145 cm (4 feet 9 inches) tall.”

That being said, it is the responsibility of the driver to ensure that everyone in their vehicle under the age of 16 is securely strapped in, in the right car seat, booster seat, or seat belt, per Boehner.

Rear-facing car seats serve a unique purpose, according to Katherine Hutka. Most car crashes have a frontal-facing aspect to them, meaning that everything in the crash moves towards the point of impact. “In a rear-facing car seat, what happens is that the child’s head, neck and spine are caught and supported by the back of the car seat because they’re facing the back of the car,” she explained. Protecting the head, neck, and spine takes precedence in a crash.

Even a toddler or preschooler has more in common with a baby than an adult, according to the expert – a large head and a weak neck. “We now recommend that children use a rearfacing car seat for as long as they still fit by the height and weight limits. A child could use a rear-facing car seat now until age two, or even age three and four.”

SHOPPING FOR THE APPROPRIATE CAR SEAT

Car seat shopping can get confusing because there’s a lot of variety in the market. What should you buy? What about second hand products?

As explained by paralegal, Amber Robinson, what you need to be looking for is that the product you buy meets the minimum safety requirements.

“Check that your seat is approved for use in Canada. You will find the National Safety Mark on the car seat or booster seat.”

Buying second hand can be OK, provided you check for the following – “make sure you still have all parts, including the instruction booklet. If you do not have it, contact the manufacturer for a copy,” added Robinson.

“They need to be Canadian-made with the National Safety Mark on them. There should be a date of manufacture and date of expiry on the product, and it should not have been in an accident. To this end, it makes sense to buy the seat from someone you trust and know.

“All car seats and booster seats expire. Check the date on your seat. Contact the manufacturer if you are unsure. Read the labels and instructions to make sure that your child is within the height, weight and age limits for the seat,” said Robinson.

COMMON MISTAKES PARENTS MIGHT BE MAKING WITH CAR SEATS

One mistake parents might make with these safety precautions is thinking that short rides that are close to home might not warrant the same kind of vigilance, shared Hutka.

“Every ride [matters]. No exceptions,” stressed the Child Safety Link professional. “We know that children are hurt or killed in car crashes, and most of them are very close to home, and so just make sure that (you’re) always using those car seats, booster seats, and seat belts on every ride.” This includes ride-shares, taxis, and any kind of passenger vehicle.

Furthermore, how you strap your child in matters too. Your child’s harness should be buckled up snugly when in a car seat.

“We don’t want there to be any slack in the harness. We want to make sure that the chest clip is always placed at armpit level. And when a child is in a rear-facing car seat, we want to make sure the harness straps are in the right slot for their direction. If they’re rear-facing, we want to have them at or below their shoulders, and when they’re forward-facing, we want them to come out of slots at or above their shoulders,” said Hutka.

The next step involves making sure the car seat is tightly attached to the vehicle. You can use either the little hooks (lower anchors) or the seat belt to accomplish this, per the health promotion specialist.

The lower anchors or seat belt must be tight and snug. You shouldn’t be able to move the car seat more than an inch if you tried wiggling it side to side or front to back. If you’re using a seat belt to fasten the car seat, the seat belt has to be locked in some way, added Hutka.

“The way to lock the seat belt on most cars is to pull it all the way out until you hear that click and it switches over into locking mode.”

With forward-facing car seats, it’s also important to make sure that you always use the tether, added the expert.

“There is a tether on the top of that car seat, and it attaches to a tether anchor in the vehicle, and that is going to reduce how far forward that car seat moves forward in a crash, and that, in turn, reduces how far the child’s head moves forward.” wIn the unfortunate circumstance that you do meet with a car crash, this could prevent head injuries.

Moving away from howtos, Hutka shared that the fourth mistake she’d like to highlight is the fact that parents might be rushing their children into booster seats or out of car seats too soon.

“We know that a child has to weigh at least 18 kilograms before moving from a car seat into a booster seat. What a booster seat does is it lifts the child up so that the adult seat belt fits them correctly.”

What this also means is that a booster seat makes it so that the child is more in charge of their own safety.

“They could wiggle out of the seat belt or they could fall asleep and slump out.” This is why it’s essential that parents don’t make the shift before their child reaches a certain level of maturity. It’s okay to leave a child in a harness car seat for as long as they still fit in it safely.

“We don’t want to move them out to a booster seat until they weigh at least 18 kg or 40 pounds and have the maturity to sit correctly. And sometimes that maturity doesn’t come in until age five or six or maybe even seven years old. It’s getting a little different than it once was. We now know that children are safer in each stage for longer,” said Hutka.

Once in the booster seat, the same rule applies. Keep your child in that seat for as long as they safely fit. There is no need to rush them into only seat belts.

“We know that a child is safe riding in a booster seat until they’re at least 145 cm tall (4 feet 9 inches). We know that most children are between the ages of 10 and 12 before they can safely use the adult seat belts without a booster seat.”

WHAT TO DO IN A COLLISION

In the case of a serious collision, it’s important to wait for the first responders before trying to remove your child from a car seat, said Hutka.

“(The first responders) generally don’t remove the child from the car seat. They generally remove the car seat from the car because the car seat itself will act as a support to secure and keep the child’s head, neck and spine stable. So they will often just transport the car seat itself to the hospital.”

As for the car seat itself, it’s important to check if it needs to be replaced, because most of them are manufactured as a single-use item, per Hutka.

“Everything stretches in the car seat [upon collision]. It’s possible [for the car seat] to be damaged without looking damaged. That’s why they recommend that you replace your car seat after any crash.”

But there are also car seats where manufacturers may ask you to inspect five points to see if they can be checked off, after a collision. This typically applies to minor crashes only.

Boehner said car seats need to be replaced when involved in a collision.

“It doesn’t matter whether or not they have been damaged or a child was seated in it at the time of the accident. Insurance companies will replace the car seat.”

For more information on child passenger safety, you can check out childsafetylink. ca. You can also reach out to Wagners, which is starting a new initiative to help ensure children are riding safely in the appropriate seat and in the appropriate positions. Call 902425-7330 and ask for Loreatha Boehner or Amber Robinson. They offer free car seat checks as well.