Most Parents Endanger Their Children While Driving

 

According to a new released study, most parents endanger their children while driving by not being able to install the car seats correctly or by positioning the children in the wrong position.

The study, led by Benjamin Hoffman, medical director at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital and pediatrics professor at the OSHU School of Medicine, has been published today in the Journal of Pediatrics.

The study analyzed the mistakes done by almost 300 families when installing the car seats for their children or positioning them in the seats. It has been revealed that only 5 percent of the families managed to install the car seats and position their infants in them without major mistakes. About half of the families had more than 5 mistakes and just one in five managed to only make a single mistake.

Hoffman claims that as a pediatrician he has seen may kids unstained in cars and just as many critically injured in car accidents, as a result of their parents’ lack of knowledge regarding the proper installation of the car seats. This is why he decided to study more families and see which mistakes are the most frequent.

Safety technicians observed 291 families installing the children’s car seat and positioning the infants in them. The technicians spent from 20 to 85 minutes for each car seat looking for misuses. Almost all of the studied car seats were rear-facing-only with a detachable base while 5 percent were convertible.

Based on recommendations issued by the NHTSA, 89 percent of the errors were critical, increasing the risk of injury in case of accident. At the same time, 91 percent made serious mistakes, which Hoffman and his team believe that could hurt the baby during daily use.

Among the most common mistakes there were an incorrect angle of recline, a chest clip positioned too low and buckling the harness too loose. In addition, almost a third of the parents used the incorrect harness slot and almost one in each five families used a product that wasn’t regulated.

When testing the car seats, technicians discovered that 44 percent of them were moving side to side more than an inch, which would allow the forces to be transmitted directly to the baby and not to the car seat in case of accident.

Hoffman argues that in order to provide safety to your infant, you have to make sure that you read the manual or get assistance by a certified technician and also keep in mind that the car seat has to be attached using a locked seat-belt.

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