Graco has recently issued some important safety tips for parents who are involved in carpools with young children. Some parents are experts at carpooling with young children and transporting them to school. Meanwhile others are rookies and could use some help with tips on carpooling. For those that need tips, Graco which is a leading manufacturer of children’s products has issued a press release with guidelines. Even parents who have been carpooling to transport their kids to school might learn some tips from reviewing the guidelines.
All children under the age of twelve years old should ride in the back of the car they are transported in, and not the front seat. If you are the driving in a carpool there should be either a car seat, booster seat, or seat belt for each child in the back seat.
How do you determine which one should be used for each child? The press release from Graco gives some guidelines. Children below age four should be riding in a car seat to secure their safety. For children ages 4-7 years old it is recommended that they sit in a belt-positioning booster seat as it reduces their risk of injury by 59% according to the press release. Meanwhile, children over seven years old that are not in a booster seat must be wearing a seatbelt in the back seat.
Younger children in car seats don’t have a say in what type of car seat they ride in, but the preferences of older kids in booster seats need to be considered when purchasing a booster seat. It recommends choosing a booster seat which has a theme that is appealing to children to encourage your child to ride in it voluntarily.
As a carpooling parent, make sure you have the car seats and booster seats installed properly in your car for the safety of your child. The best way to do this is by reading the manufacturer’s published directions closely and following them. Many local police stations and fire stations will inspect your installation for you for free, but you may need to schedule an appointment.
Children love to explore, and that is why every door in your car should be locked. This way if they pull a handle on the door while playing in the back seat it will not open. If you know your car will be used for carpooling young children to school, purchasing one with child proof locks is a good safety precaution.
The final tip Graco supplies really isn’t a tip about the car or the equipment used to transport the children. It’s about the children itself. They recommend having an information sheet with important information about each child in the car including emergency contact information, medical contact information and any other information first responders might need when arriving on the seen of an accident or emergency involving your vehicle and the children inside of it.
As a parent who is a carpool driver, thinking of the children in a car being injured or involved in an accident is a terrifying though. By following the steps provided by Graco though you can reduce the risk of that event occurring, and be prepared if it ever does. As the school year begins, you might want to do a quick safety check on your car and inspect your car seats, booster seats, and seatbelts to make sure they are secure and safe for your valuable passengers.
SOURCES:
Prnewswire.com. “Get in Gear with the ABC’s of Carpooling”.
URL: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=ind_focus.story&STORY=/www/story/08-30-2007/0004654453&EDATE=THU+Aug+30+2007,+03:30+PM
