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Preventing Kansas City Car Crash Injuries Part 1: NHTSA Releases New Car Seat Guidelines

Did you know that Missouri car accidents are the leading cause of child death in Kansas City? Nationwide, more than 5,000 children are killed each year in traffic accidents. An additional 90,000 are hospitalized for crash-related injuries. To prevent accident injury and death, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have announced new guidelines for the use of car seats and booster seats. The new guidelines are designed to offer children better protection in the event of a car accident.

The new policy was published in the April 2011 issue of Pediatrics (published online March 21).

New Rear-Facing Car Seat Recommendation

Kansas and Missouri state law requires that infants be restrained in a rear-facing car seat until they are one year old and weigh 20 pounds.

A child may sit in a rear-facing position in these types of seats:

1. Infant-only car seats
2. Convertible car seats
3. 3-in-1 seats

The new recommendation is that all infants and toddlers remain in the rear-facing position until they are 2 years old or until they reach the highest weight or height allowed in the rear-facing position by their car seat's manufacturer.

The reason for this is that children are safest while rear-facing. A 2007 found that children under two years old are 75 percent less likely to die in a car accident if they are rear-facing. The rear-facing position supports the head, neck and spine and distributes the force of the crash across the body.

Many parents consider forward-facing car seats a milestone as forward-facing car seats are more convenient for parents. But, rear-facing is five times safer than forward-facing. Isn't the extra safety worth the inconvenience?

New Booster Seat Recommendation

In Missouri, children must use a car seat until they are four years old. Children age four to seven must sit in a booster seat unless they weigh more than 80 pounds or are taller than four feet nine inches.

The new recommendations suggest that children ride in a belt-positioning booster-seat with a high-back until they are at least 4 foot, 9 inches, AND 8-12 years old. However, the AAP emphasizes that a forward-facing seat with a harness is still safer than a booster and that children should remain in the forward-facing car seat as long as possible - even if they are the right size for a booster seat.

A child should not use a seat belt until it fits correctly. The shoulder belt should lie across the middle of the chest and shoulder and the lap belt should fit low on the hips and upper thighs. The belt should not be near the face or neck and it should not cross the stomach.

The Missouri child injury attorneys at Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys have seen too many families suffer the loss of a child to a Missouri car crash. We urge you to consider following the new car seat guidelines and make sure that your car seat id=s correctly installed. To learn more, read our library article: "Preventing Kansas City Car Crash Injuries Part 2: Car Seat Installation Tips."

If your child has been injured or killed in a Missouri car crash, we'd like to help your family get accountability and compensation. Contact the Kansas City accident attorneys at Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys at 888-348-2616 to schedule a free legal consultation with a Kansas City accident attorney.

Want more information about the rights of accident victims? Our Kansas City accident attorneys have written a book to help injury victims protect their claim. To learn more, download a free copy of "10 Essential Steps You Must Take To Protect Your Injury Claim."

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