The best way to keep children safe in vehicles is to correctly use the right car seats or seat belts for the child’s age and size. Parents may be confident that they have correctly installed their child’s car seat, but according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Office of Traffic Safety, 4 out of 5 car seats are used incorrectly.
Child Passenger Safety Week (Sept. 18-24) is a national campaign to remind parents and caregivers to take time to make sure children are in the right types of seats for their ages and sizes, that they fit their children properly and are correctly installed.
• In Minnesota, all children must be in a child restraint until they are 4'9" or at least age 8, whichever comes first.
• Rear-facing seats - Children should ride in a rear-facing car seat until they have reached the height and weight limits allowed by the car seat manufacturer.
• Forward-facing seats with harness - Toddlers and preschoolers who have reached the height and weight limits of the rear-facing car seat should use a forward-facing seat with harness until they reach the weight limit allowed by the car seat manufacturer.
• Booster seats - School-age children who have reached the height and weight limits of the forward-facing seat can sit on a booster seat. It MUST be used with a lap and shoulder belt.
• Seat belts - Children 8 years old or have reached 4'9" can buckle up with seat belts. Your child is ready for an adult seat belt when they can sit with their back against the vehicle seat, knees bent comfortably and completely over the vehicle seat edge without slouching, and feet touching the floor.
• Children under 13 should always ride in the back seat. The air bags in the front seating position are designed for adult passengers.
Buckle Up. Every Seat. Every Time. Together, we can drive Minnesota toward zero deaths. #RiceCountySafeRoadsCoaltion #TZD #TowardZeroDeaths
Original source found here.
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