It is extremely dangerous for children to sit in the front seat of a car that is equipped with a passenger airbag. This is because in the event of a collision, the airbag may deploy, hitting the child in the face. The airbags are designed to block a full-grown adult from pitching forward into the dashboard of the car. They are not manufactured to block a small child. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia writes that children younger than 13 are always safest when placed in the backseat of a vehicle.
Even in situations where you may need one extra-seat to transport a group of youngsters, it is best to commission another driver rather than put a child up in the front seat. All children that are over the age of 13 must wear the lap and shoulder belts when riding in the front seat of the car, as air bags are designed to work with these belts for maximum protection.
If you decide to place a child over the age of 13 in a passenger seat in the front of the car, the American Academy for Pediatrics suggests that you move the front seat back as far as possible from the dashboard, and that you teach your child not to learn forward to change the radio or fiddle with the GPS while the car is in motion. Also, insist that your child sit upright in the seat with the seat belt snug/
Parents and caretakers should never place an infant in a rear-facing child safety seat in the front seat of a car that has an air bag. This is because in the event of an accident the back will be directed at the infant's head. In the year 2009, 1,314 children aged 14 or younger died in motor vehicle crashes. Approximately 179,000 children were also injured.
Many of the children killed or injured in car accidents could have avoided injury if they had been in the back seat of the car in a proper seat for their size. One study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention writes that more than 618,000 children rode in vehicles without use of child safety seat or booster seat or seat belt at some point in their life. The lack of proper restraint, combined with the tendency to let children sit in the front seat, is creating serious dangers and the potential for injury all throughout the United States.
More than two-thirds of all children that are killed in car accidents were riding with a drunk driver when they were harmed. Most states consider this child endangerment, and offenders can be arrested and prosecuted for this crime. Still, by the time that many of these drunk drivers are arrested the damage is already done and the child that was in the car may be in the hospital or may have passed away by the time that the police discover the child endangerment offense.
Restraint use among young children typically depends on whether or not the driver wears a seat belt. Parents that make it a priority to buckle up when in the car will normally make sure that their children are buckled in too. Parents that take seat belt laws causally will normally display this behavior to their children.
Therefore, the children will also take seatbelt laws casually and may end up in an accident with severe injuries as a result. Child restraint systems are often used incorrectly, which can increase the dangers of injury even if the child is buckled in. One study reveals that about 72% of observed car and booster seats were misused in a way that could be expected to increase a child's risk of injury during a car accident. 40% of all children who die in an accident of some sort are killed in a car accident. This proves that car accidents are a very real threat to children and they should be carefully buckled in before parents head out on the road. Contact a car accident attorney today if your child was injured in a vehicle accident and you want to seek compensation from a liable party!