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Child Car Seats

(adapted from fact sheets available from the National SAFE KIDS Campaign)

Children are particularly at risk from death and injury as passengers in motor vehicles. Motor vehicle safety features are designed for the comfort and protection of an adult-sized body. These same devices may place children at greater risk.

Safety Tips

Child safety seats are extremely effective when correctly installed and used, reducing the risk of death by 6 percent for infants (under age 1) and by 47 percent for toddlers (ages 1-4).

From 1982 through 1994, it is estimated that 2,655 lives were saved by child restraint use. More than 300 children ages 4 and under were saved as a result of child restraint use in 1994 alone.

If all child passengers ages 4 and under were correctly restrained, an additional 200 lives could be saved and 20,000 injuries could be prevented annually.

Read your child safety seat instruction manual and your motor vehicle's owner's manual for directions on proper installation. Some vehicles require supplemental attachment hardware-such as a locking clip to ensure proper fit and secure tethering of the child safety seat to the rear car seat. An improperly installed child seat can break loose in a crash destroying its protective ability.

Always use child safety seats and/or safety belts correctly every time you ride and do so in the back seat if at all possible.

Passenger-Side Air Bags and Children

Never put a rear-facing infant or convertible seat in the front passenger seat of a vehicle with a passenger side air bag.

If there is a passenger-side air bag, any child 12 years of age or under should be appropriately restrained in the back seat.

Selecting a Child Safety Seat

Only buy a child safety seat with a certification label that shows that it meets or exceeds Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213.

Call the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Auto Safety Hotline (1-800-424-9393) to see if any recalls or safety notices have been issued on your child safety seat.