The most common crash involves an impact to the front of your car which means that the back seat is usually a safer place to travel.
Baby car seat front seat.
Buckle children in the middle of the back seat when possible because it is the safest spot in the vehicle.
They can be installed rear facing for infants and younger toddlers and then reversed to face forward.
Nancy louie director of maternal health 562 491 9 212 529 10 th st long beach 90813 r for women delivering at hospital.
Never place a rear facing car seat in front of an airbag.
Los angeles cha hollywood presbyterian medical center childbirth education classes and cable tv channel include safety seat education.
Choosing a car seat built as compactly as your car is key.
Importance of safety seat use.
Convertible car seats are larger and have no separate base.
If the car seat is placed in the front seat and the air bag inflates it could hit the back of a rear facing car seat right where your child s head is and cause a serious or fatal injury.
At that point the seat can be converted into a forward facing.
Placing the car seat in the wrong spot.
These seats are installed rear facing and attach to a base that s hooked or strapped into your car.
Airbags can kill young children riding in the front seat.
They recommend following what is known as the 4 40 40 rule.
It was found that the most common location in the vehicle for a car seat was the rear passenger side 41 of parents put the child s car seat here.
Read the forward facing car seat s owner s manual to determine height and weight limits and keep your child in a harnessed seat for as long as possible.
They are looking for a child to be at least 4 years old weight at least 40 pounds and or be at least 40 inches tall.
So children are best carried in the rear.
Particularly when you re installing a car seat rear facing when the safe approved angle often requires so much space that drivers or passengers can t fit in front of it.
3 in 1 car seats can transition from rear facing infant car seats to forward facing toddler car seats toddler car seats and finally to booster seats for older children.
The state of california offers guidelines for switching an infant over the age of two to a front facing car seat.
Meanwhile most infant and convertible car seats are 18 to 23 inches wide.
The centre rear seat is the safest place of all for a properly restrained child because they re furthest away from any impact and less likely to hit or be hit by deforming intruding structures.
Safety seat manual provided.
A study published in pediatrics showed for children newborn to 3 years old sitting in the center rear seat is 43 safer than sitting on the side in the back.
Written handouts also provided.
Children at this stage are not yet ready for adult safety belts and should use belt positioning booster seats until they are at least 4 9 and between 8 and 12 years old.