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After the Crash: Replace the Car Seat?

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Timely tips for Child Passenger Safety Week

You never saw it coming. A driver cuts into your lane, clips your right front fender, spins your SUV and forces it into a guardrail.

The airbags deploy, you’re momentarily stunned and then suddenly you’re jarred into full alert mode as your toddler lets out an ear-piercing wail. Fortunately, your daughter isn’t hurt — she’s just confused and frightened. Her car seat protected her from injury and for that you’re immensely grateful.

Although your car can be fixed, did you know that your child’s car seat or booster seat should be replaced following a moderate to a severe accident? It may look okay, but that doesn’t mean it is fit for duty. Indeed, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) advises that car seats or booster seats involved in certain types of accidents should be discarded.

Child Passenger Safety Week

Recently, experts from CARSTAR — North America’s largest network of collision repair specialists — teamed with Evenflo, an innovator in child safety equipment, including car and booster seats, to shine a light on this little-known fact.

car seatWorking with Shannon Spake, a Fox Sports host who covers football, basketball and motorsports, the companies drew attention to car seat safety as part of Child Passenger Safety Week this week. Spake is the mother of twin boys and like other parents is well versed in car seat safety.

Said Spake, “When your car is involved in a crash, it’s just as important that you take care of your car seat or booster seat as it is to address the car damage. CARSTAR and Evenflo want to make sure parents everywhere are aware of the potential need to replace their car seat or booster seat after a crash.”

Minor Car Crash Defined

So, what defines a minor crash, one that DOES NOT require the replacement of a car seat or a booster seat? The NHTSA is very particular about what this means, identifying five points that must apply across the line:

  1. The vehicle was able to be driven away from the crash site.
  2. The vehicle door nearest the car seat was not damaged.
  3. None of the passengers in the vehicle sustained any injuries in the crash.
  4. If the vehicle has airbags, the airbags did not deploy during the crash; and
  5. There is no visible damage to the car seat.

On the flip side, the NHTSA says to NEVER use a car seat that has been involved in a moderate to severe crash. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

“CARSTAR is committed to repairing accident damage and getting families back on the road in a safe vehicle, and the child safety seat is a major part of that vehicle’s safety system,” said Dean Fisher, Chief Operating Officer for CARSTAR. “Any time you’re replacing sheet metal, bumpers, airbags and other safety systems, you’ve been in an accident hard enough to damage the car seat. It’s a cost that many insurance policies cover, so it’s always smart to replace the car seat and ensure your child is safe and protected on the road.”

Turn to Your Car Seat Manufacturer for Guidance

What should consumers do? Evenflo recommends that consumers contact their car seat manufacturer if they have questions about car seat replacement after a crash.

“Crash damage to a car seat or booster seat may not always be visible,” said Evenflo Safety Advocate Sarah Haverstick. “Damage can occur even if the child restraint is unoccupied during the crash. If a consumer has a question about whether their car seat should be replaced, it is important to contact their car seat manufacturer directly for guidance.”

Essential Child Protection Safety Tips

Beyond the likely replacement of a car seat following a moderate to severe accident, Evenflo offers three helpful reminders regarding child passenger safety:

  1. Make sure your child’s age, weight and height are within the requirements for any car seat you are considering for purchase.
  2. Check the NHTSA guidance to help determine what type of car seat is appropriate for a child’s size and development level.
  3. For help with car seat installation and use, contact your car seat manufacturer or find a certified child passenger safety technician near you.

Keep Your Child Safe

Car seat safety is no small matter. There are child passenger safety (CPS) technicians in your area who can help ensure your car seats are installed correctly and teach you how to install a car seat on your own.

For more information, visit Safe Kids Worldwide.

See Also — CARSTAR Raises $230,000 in Fight Against Cystic Fibrosis

Photo courtesy of CARSTAR.

How to Keep Children Safe in a Crash

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Children need special protection when riding in a car.

children and car seat safety
Child car seat safety PSA. How *not* to buckle your child.

More than 30,000 Americans die in car crashes each year, including 1,300 children aged 12 and younger. Car safety begins by properly buckling in all occupants with special consideration given to ensuring that children are adequately protected. The kind of protection used varies by age with the federal government recommending that all children under 13 sit in the back seat if one is available.

Vehicle Occupant Basics

Children aged 12 and under should ride in the back seat if there is one. Moreover, in some states such as California, Georgia, New Jersey and Wyoming, state law mandates using a rear seat for younger children if one is available. For the past 25 years new cars have been equipped with airbags, a safety protector for adults, but a lethal weapon that can kill kids according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Babies and Toddlers

From birth thorough age 2, kids should be placed in a rear-facing child safety seat. That safety seat should carry a five-star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to provide the protection your kids need and the instructions you can understand. Specifically, the Ease-of-Use Ratings furnished by the NHTSA go beyond seat safety to cover four essential areas: evaluation of instructions, vehicle installation features, evaluation of labels and securing the child. The NHTSA notes that child safety seats “must fit right to work right.”

Pre-Kindergarten Children

When young children outgrow their first child safety seat, a larger forward-facing seat should be used. Such seats hold children who weigh up to 40 pounds and must be used with the seat’s harness. Some of the newer seats have a higher weight limit and provide protection for kids older than the customary four-year-old child limit.

Your School-Aged Children

Children from about aged four to aged eight can move to a booster seat once they reach the height and weight limits of their child safety seat. Belt positioning booster seats provide adequate protection and should be fitted with the upper (shoulder) strap crossing the chest and out across the shoulder near the neck. Kids should sit up straight with their knees bent at the seat’s edge advises the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Preteen Vehicle Occupants

Once children reach 4 feet 9 inches tall, a booster seat is no longer needed. Instead, youngsters should use seat belts just as an adult does. The lap portion of the belt should cross the upper thighs and the shoulder belt portion should cross the chest and out across the shoulder near the neck.

LATCH Requirements

To make it easier for parents to strap their kids in, the federal government mandates that car manufacturers install a lower anchors and tethers for children (LATCH) system to make it easier to attach child restraints to vehicle seats securely. Check your vehicle’s owner’s manual for instructions on how to connect child safety seats and booster seats.

Child safety seats and booster seats can help reduce injuries and death, but they’re only as effective as they are used properly. Keep tabs on the safety of your seats by following the seat recall list and responding to those recalls immediately.

See Also — Pet Safety: Subaru Goes for the Dogs

Photo credit: Steven DePalo