5 Ways to Keep Kids Safe in the Car

Get safely from here to there with the most precious cargo of all.

Parents carefully make sure their homes are “kid friendly.” It’s important to put the same amount of thought into making sure your vehicles are safe. That’s why child safety and health expert Debra Holtzman, a certified child-passenger safety technician, offers these guidelines to help you get on the road safely.

1. Use the right car seat the right way. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents keep their toddlers in rear-facing car seats until age 2, or until they’ve reached the maximum height and weight for their seat.
    
   Consult both the seat manufacturer’s instructions and your vehicle manual before purchasing and installing a seat to ensure compatibility and proper setup, says Holtzman, who is also author of The Safe Baby: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Home Safety and Healthy Living. The rear-center seat is the best position. “From there, children can’t reach the door latches or windows,” says Holtzman. “They’re also insulated from crashes in all directions."
    
   Also, never place a child in a rear-facing seat in the front seat of a car with an active passenger air bag. A rear-facing seat in the front is very close to the dashboard where the bag is kept. The air bag’s “explosive force is likely to strike the back of a baby’s seat hard enough to cause a serious or fatal injury to the head and brain,” Holtzman says.
    
2. Keep older kids in back. The rule of thumb is that all kids younger than 13 should ride in the back seat. And most children should ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until they reach 4 feet 9 inches tall. “The most common crash is frontal, so the rear seat is the safest regardless of air bags,” says Holtzman. Industry research shows that protection is cut by 40 percent when a child sits in the front, she adds.
    
3. Think about first aid. In your car, keep a first-aid kit that includes a manual, non-latex gloves, bandages, antiseptic wipes and an instant cold compress. Keep your cell phone charged and preprogrammed with emergency numbers, including your child’s doctor’s office.
    
   “It’s also a good idea to prepare an emergency health information card for yourself and your children,” Holtzman says. “This should include a child’s name, date of birth, blood type, date of last tetanus shot, immunization dates, allergies and chronic and past illnesses. Laminate the card in plastic to prevent tears or water damage. Keep it in your wallet directly behind your driver's license.
    
4. Make room for activities. “When you’re being distracted by antsy children,” Holtzman says, “it takes away from your ability to concentrate on driving.” Allowing kids to bring CDs for everyone to enjoy, personal MP3 players with headphones, soft toys, books and quiet games will help you avoid the non-stop chorus of “Are we there yet?” Build in stretch breaks on long trips to let everyone work out the energy, too. If kids get out of hand, pull over and address the issue. Get everyone out of the car and consider reshuffling seating, too.