Car Seat Safety: Stay Properly Buckled Up!

A horrifying accident this past Friday serves as a stunning reminder to keep your children buckled up safely and properly. According to 11Alive, a woman was charged in a car accident where a 2-year-old-girl was ejected from her vehicle. The ejection was due to the fact that the woman had apparently failed to properly restrain the car seat. According to the Georgia State Patrol, the straps on the car seat were loose on the child safety seat and the right side strap was not latched. Fortunately, the child was released from the hospital on Sunday.

This kind of situation should serve as a reminder of the importance of properly installing your child's car seat. Under O.C.G.A. § 40-8-76, any driver who transports a child under the age of 8 needs to provide a proper restraining system for the child. In fact, according to the Center for Disease Control, car accidents are a leading cause of injuries to children in the United States. In the last decade more than 9,000 children under the age of 12 died in a car crash. By properly installing your child's car seat, you can help to reduce the risk of a serious injury. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are a number of important considerations when installing and correctly fitting you child into a car seat. Amongst those, reading the instructions and properly installing your child's car seat are amongst the most important.

With road-trip season right around the corner, we just wanted to take a moment to remind you and your family to stay safe and stay buckled up!