Friday, May 28, 2010

Packing the car for a weekend getaway? - Tips to make sure cargo doesn't hurt your most precious cargo (your kids)!

Does your car look like this 
when you pack for a trip?  

Did you know that because of the forces in a crash, 
things will weigh their usual weight TIMES the speed of a crash?  

Your 20 pound stroller will weigh 600 pounds in a 30mph crash!  
(20lb x 30mph = 600 lbs)


Here are some tips to pack safely: 
  1. Prioritize what you pack: If you don't need it, or can get it when you get to your destination, don't bring it.  
  2. Trunk it! - Pack the heaviest items in the trunk - and if you need to have items in the passenger area, make sure they are the lightest items you are taking (like extra pillows, etc).  If you have a minivan, SUV, or wagon - you don't have a separate trunk.  If there is a 3rd row of seats, try keeping the seats up to serve as a barrier between the cargo and the passengers.  Pack the heaviest items against the back of the vehicle seat and the lightest items closest to the trunk opening.  When you slam on the brakes, the nose of the car goes down - making the things closest to the trunk opening the most likely to fly up and over into the passenger area - so make these items the lightest ones that you are packing.  Note: the horizontal cargo covers that come with most SUVs and wagons will not keep cargo restrained - they are simply so that no one can see what you have in your trunk.  A few vehicles - such as the Volvo SUVs and wagons - have optional steel barriers to separate the cargo area.   
  3. Keep your pets safe - and keep yourself safe from your pet:  A 20lb dog will weigh 600lbs in a 30mph crash.  IMMI, the company that makes the harness straps, buckles, LATCH straps and other hardware for most car seats sold in the US has a pet harness that is crash tested and can keep your dog from flying around in the event of a crash (other pet harnesses will simply break).  It works for both small and large dogs and allows the dog to sit or lie down - but will prevent the dog from flying around the car in a crash (and from jumping on top of your child during a regular car ride).   
  4. The OUCH Test:  When giving your child a toy in the car, try to make it as soft and lightweight as possible.  Not sure if the toy would hurt - do the ouch test - take the toy, hit yourself in the head - if you have to say ouch it would likely hurt if it hit the child in a crash.  One other thing that fails the ouch test - the mirrors that you can place on the rear head rest to see the baby.  Not only are they a danger to the baby - but they are also a danger to everyone else in the car as they are a distraction to the driver - encouraging the driver to stare at the very cute baby, instead of the road ahead.

Monday, May 24, 2010

An oldie - but most definitely a "goodie". If you think it would be suicide to jump onto a glass roof 30 feet below, why drive at 30mph without a seatbelt?



Did you know that the forces a body feels at 30mph are the same as if you were to jump from a 3rd floor balcony?



This fabulous 1970s public information film from the UK asks this: If you think it would be suicide to jump onto a glass roof 30 feet below, why drive at 30mph without a seatbelt?

Just like you couldn't catch a child who fell from 30 feet up, so too you can't hold onto that child in a crash.  The forces are such that things in a crash weigh their weight multiplied by the speed of a crash - so a 30 pound toddler in a 30mph crash would weigh 900 pounds (30 x 30 = 900).

Perhaps you think to yourself, I'm just going in a taxi for a short trip - if I were going on the highway I'd use a car seat for my child and buckle my own seat belt.  Studies show that the majority of crashes involving children happen on roads with speed limits of <45mph and within 10 minutes of your destination.  Make sure your child is protected on EVERY trip.

Chen IG, Durbin DR, Elliot MR, Kallan MJ, Winston FK. Trip Characteristics of Vehicle Crashes Involving Child Passengers. Injury Prevention 2005; 11:219-224.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

A salute to the Brits - British Public Service Announcement #1 - "Julie" (or why back seat passengers need to wear a seat belt)- from the Think! UK campaign


Here are the studies that prove that Julie is not alone - real people die every day because others in their vehicle did not wear their seat belt. 

Mayrose J, et al. The effect of unrestrained rear-seat passengers on driver mortality. J Trauma. 2006 Nov;61(5):1249-54.
  • CONCLUSIONS: Unrestrained rear-seat passengers place themselves as well as their driver at great risk of serious injury when involved in a head-on crash.
  • CONCLUSIONS: Adjusting for confounders (other than point of impact), the odds of fatality for a belted driver in a head-on crash was 2.28 times greater (95% CI = 1.93 to 2.7) with an unbelted rear-seat passenger. Unrestrained rear-seat passengers place themselves and their driver at great risk of fatal injury when involved in a crash.
Broughton J. The actual threat posed by unrestrained rear seat car passengers. Accid Anal Prev. 2004 Jul;36(4):627-9.
  • CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the risk of death to a front seat car occupant is increased by about three-quarters by the presence of an unrestrained rear seat passenger behind them.
  • CONCLUSIONS: The number of killed or seriously injured drivers is estimated to decrease by around 25% if rear seat occupants come to wear seat belts. Also, the number of killed or seriously injured passengers in front seats is estimated to decrease by 28% if unbelted rear seat occupants come to wear seat belts. Thus, wearing of seat belts by previously unbelted rear seat passengers is considered effective in reducing not only injuries to the rear seat passengers themselves but also injuries to front seat occupants.
    • CONCLUSIONS: A car occupant could be killed if struck by another occupant who was catapulted forward, backward, or sideways in a crash.  The risk of death was greater for a restrained front seat occupant in front of an unrestrained rear seat passenger compared with a restrained front seat occupant in front of a restrained rear seat passenger (adjusted RR, 1.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10-1.31). Persons who wish to reduce their risk of death in a crash should wear their own restraint and should ask others in the same car to use their restraints.
    • CONCLUSIONS: The risk of death of belted front-seat occupants with unbelted rear-seat passengers was raised nearly five-fold. If rear seat belts had been used, almost 80% of deaths of belted front-seat occupants could have been avoided. Rear seat belt use should be encouraged for the safety of all car occupants.

    Friday, May 14, 2010

    The 5-Step Test - Your Way to Know if a Child Can Ride Safely Without a Booster

    Are you curious if your child is ready to ride safely without a booster?
    Are you curious if the booster makes the seat belt fit properly?

    The 5-Step Test is a simple way to see if the vehicle's seat belt fits the child properly.

    Kids who can answer "yes" to all 5 questions can ride safely without a booster (most kids are close to 5 feet tall before they pass).  

    For kids who still need a booster to ride safely, make sure you can answer "yes" to questions #3-5 with the child sitting in the booster (if you can't, try a different booster).

    The 5-Step Test ©SafetyBeltSafe USA

    1. Does the child sit all the way back against the auto seat?
    2. Do the child's knees bend comfortably at the edge of the auto seat?
    3. Does the belt cross the shoulder between the neck and arm?
    4. Is the lap belt as low as possible, touching the thighs?
    5. Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip? (For squirmy kids, try switching the seatbelt into the locking mode - click here for more info)
    If you answer  "no" to any of these questions, your child STILL needs a booster seat to make both the shoulder belt and the lap belt fit right and to keep them safest.

      Thursday, May 13, 2010

      LATCH - Tricks to a Tight Installation - How to Pull the Belt Effectively

      Why should I care: LATCH belts are finicky - and will only get tight if you pull them exactly as they want to be pulled.   

      How do I know if I am pulling the LATCH belt correctly?  If you drop the LATCH belt and it falls on top of the child's car seat - where the child sits - then you have pulled it correctly from INSIDE the car seat.  If you drop the LATCH belt and it falls on the vehicle seat (i.e. to the side of the car seat) then you have been pulling it from OUTSIDE the car seat.  **See bottom for the exceptions to this rule.
       
      DON'T: Pull the LATCH belt from OUTSIDE the car seat
      Rear-facing First Years True FitPulling LATCH belt from OUTSIDE
      Rear-facing Combi Coccoro
      Pulling LATCH belt from OUTSIDE
      DO: Pull the LATCH belt from INSIDE the car seat 
      (pass the tail of the belt through the side hole in the car seat)
      Rear-facing First Years True Fit
      Pulling the tail of the LATCH belt from INSIDE the car seat
      Rear-facing Combi Coccoro
      Pulling the tail of the LATCH belt from INSIDE the car seat
      Britax 70 (Marathon/Boulevard/Advocate) or 55 (Roundabout)
      Pulling the tails of the LATCH belt from INSIDE the seat
      Forward-Facing Evenflo Tribute
      Pulling the tail of the vehicle's lap belt from INSIDE the car seat

      Forward-facing Britax Frontier
      Pulling the tail of the vehicle's lap belt from INSIDE the car seat
      **EXCEPTIONS:
      Because every rule needs a few exceptions...
      • Britax Advocate, Marathon, Boulevard (the original versions - that go to 65 pounds) - the 2 separate LATCH belts are connected on a metal bar on the side of the car seat and the belts pull best from the OUTSIDE of the seat.  Note, the newer versions - the Britax Advocate 70, Marathon 70, Boulevard 70, and Roundabout 55 - like the belt pulled from INSIDE the seat. 
      •  Chicco Key Fit - the LATCH belt is located centrally, and therefore you have no choice but to pull it from inside the seat (you wouldn't be able to pull it from outside even if you tried)
      • Graco Safe Seat Step 2 (Forward-facing only seat) - the forward-facing belt path is closed off, forcing you to have to pull the belt from the outside (which makes this seat more difficult to install with LATCH than others) 
      • Recaro Signo - the 2 separate LATCH belts are connected on a metal bar on the side of the car seat and the belts pull best from the OUTSIDE of the seat
      • Sunshine Kids Radian - the rear-facing belt path is closed off, forcing you to have to pull the belt from the outside (one of the reasons this seat is more difficult to install tightly than others)

      Friday, May 7, 2010

      Side Air Bags and Your Kids - What You Need to Know to Keep Your Family Safe

      SIDE AIR BAGS: THE BASICS

      There are three main types of Side Air Bags (SABs)
      1. Head SABs are usually mounted in the roof rail above the side windows and are designed to help protect the head in a side-impact crash. There are two types of head SABs: curtain SABs and tubular SABs. Curtain airbags drop down like a curtain to cover the windows, which means they can also protect passengers from flying glass when the windows break in a crash.
      2. Chest (torso) SABs are mounted in the side of the seat back or in the door and are designed to help protect the chest in a serious side-impact crash.
      3. Head/chest combination ("combo") SABs are usually mounted in the side of the seat and are typically larger than chest (torso) SABs. Combo SABs are designed to help protect both the head and chest of an adult - they are usually found only for the front seats.
      SIDE AIR BAGS: HOW CAN I FIND OUT IF MY VEHICLE HAS THEM?
      Buying a new vehicle? Make sure the vehicle you buy has SABs - ideally ones that offer head protection for the front AND back seat passengers. Visit this website from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to learn which vehicles offer side airbags. When you find a vehicle you are interested in, click on the "view details" button to learn about which type of side airbags are featured in that vehicle.

      SIDE AIR BAGS: ARE THEY EFFECTIVE?
      YES!!! A study showed that SABs with head protection reduced the risk of death by 37% for drivers in cars and 52% for drivers in SUVs.

      SIDE AIR BAGS: ARE THEY SAFE FOR KIDS?
      YES!!! As of 2008, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has investigated over 1,500 crashes where SABs deployed. Sixty of the crashes involved children (ages 13 and under). NHTSA has reported only one child who has been injured by a side airbag; a 3-year old sitting unrestrained in the front seat (of course you wouldn't let your 3-yr-old ride in the front seat, let alone unrestrained!) who sustained minor facial skin lacerations from the side airbag cover. No children are known to have been seriously or fatally injured by a side airbag. A recent study of children in side-impact crashes found no increased risk of injury to children age 15 and younger associated with side airbag deployment. NHTSA continues to closely monitor real-world SAB deployments involving both children and adults.

      SIDE AIR BAGS: CAN I INSTALL MY CHILD'S CAR SEAT NEXT TO A SIDE AIR BAG?  
      If your vehicle has side airbags for the rear seats, please read the owners manual to your vehicle AND your child's car seat to make sure that both approve of the use of a car seat next to a side airbag.  Most car seat manufacturers defer to the vehicle manufacturer regarding whether the seat can/can not be placed next to the side airbag.  Below are excerpts from the car seat manufacturers instruction manuals regarding their position on placing a car seat next to a side airbag.

      BABY TREND
      • Seating positions with Active Air Bags must be avoided.
      • (Note: There is no mention in the manual about side airbags, or the distinction between front and side airbags.  Until we can clarify further, assume that side airbags are included under the category of active air bags.)
      BRITAX
      • When using in a vehicle with air bags, refer to your vehicle owner’s manual for child seat installation instructions and precautions. 
      CHICCO
      • Refer to vehicle owner’s manual before installing this restraint in a seating position with side airbags.
      DOREL
      • Check the vehicle owner’s manual for more information about air bag/child restraint use.
      • (Note: There is no mention in the manual about side airbags)
      EVENFLO
      If the rear seat of your vehicle is equipped with side air bags:
      • Vehicles built prior to the 2002 model year: 
        • DO NOT use this restraint in a vehicle seating position equipped with a side air bag unless authorized by the vehicle manufacturer.
      • Model year 2002 and newer vehicles:
        • Refer to your vehicle owner’s manual before placing this restraint in a seating position equipped with a side air bag. DO NOT place any objects between the restraint and the side air bag, as an expanding air bag may cause the items to strike your child.
      GRACO
      • For vehicles with air bags, refer to vehicle owner’s manual for child restraint installation information.
      ORBIT
      • Check your vehicle owner’s manual regarding air bag compatibility with child restraints.
      PEG PEREGO
      • Never use in a vehicle seat with an active air bag. Read your vehicle manual for instructions on how to turn off the air bag. 
      • If your vehicle has air bags, do not install this car seat on a seat with air bags. Death or serious injuries can occur if an air bag hits the unit (read your vehicle owner’s manual for instructions on where to install an infant car seat in your vehicle).
      • If your vehicle has front or rear side air bags you should refer to your vehicle owner’s manual.
      • (Note: Until we can clarify further, assume that side airbags are included under the category of active air bags.)
      SUNSHINE KIDS
      • (Note: There is no mention in the manual about side airbags)

      Sunday, May 2, 2010

      Tip Sheets from the Car Seat Lady

      These tip sheets are saved as pdf files - which means that they are easy to share with friends online & also easy to print.  Simply click on the name of the tip sheet to open the document as a Google Doc pdf file.  Sometimes (especially if you are using Firefox as your browser) Google Docs is temperamental and the image of the tip sheet doesn't show.  If you can't see the tip sheet, simply download or print it (upper left hand corner of the Google Doc screen).

       
      Preemies & Small Newborns - Are you taking home a baby weighing less than 5 pounds?




      Rear-facing & Your Toddler - Turning a Baby Forward-Facing at 1 year is so 1990's... Evidence-Based Recommendations for the 2010's from a Pediatrician & Car Seat Lady



      Car Seat/Stroller Compatibility Chart



      Avoid Regrets: Tips for Traveling Safely in Taxis




      Buying a Safe Vehicle