Kids Injured in Car Accidents Due to Improper Child Seat Use

In a wake up call to parents who think their kids are protected from suffering personal injuries in a car accident in Florida, a recent study by Safe Kids found that the majority of parents are improperly using their kids car safety seats. The study found that only about thirty percent of parents properly use the tether straps on their kids seats, subjecting them to preventable head injuries.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that car accidents are the leading cause of wrongful death of kids between the ages of three and fourteen. Yet, if parents installed and used their kids safety seats correctly, the risk of such wrongful deaths would decrease by more than half.

The improper use of tether straps, which prevents the safety seats from tumbling forward, were the study’s most glaring observation. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that proper use of the tether straps would would save lives and prevent more than 3000 car accident injuries a year. We echo the ongoing effort to educate parents about the proper use of car safety seats. We hope that a car accident is not the event which reminds parents to fully protect their children.