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Car Seat Safety

Follow your state's car seat and booster seat laws : They are aimed at preventing injuries and saving young lives!!!

Motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause of death in children ages 5-14 according to the CDC Injury Prevention. It has been reported that approximately 178,000 child passengers under the age of 14 suffered injures in 2007 alone. Unfortunately, improper use of child safety restraints led to a number of those deaths because misusing child safety seats increases the threat of injury to a child if you are involved in an auto accident.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported:

• Infant car seats can decrease the risk of death by 71%!
• Appropriate toddler seats for children ages 1-4 can reduce the risk of death by 54%!

In a study conducted by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia it was discovered that:

• Booster seats can reduce the risk of child injuries to children ages 4-7 by 59% when compared to seat belt use alone.

You should never place your child in a regular seat belt too early as that increases the risk of injury by four times. Serious injuries are more likely to result when children ages 4-8 are improperly restrained in booster seats. Using appropriate car seats or booster seats more accurately positions seatbelts across a child's small body preventing injury.

Properly strapping your child into an age appropriate car seat, ensuring you are using the proper size child seat, and positioning the seat properly are the best ways to ensure your child travels safely in your vehicle. It is also important to know your state's laws regarding car seat and booster seat laws.

For information on Kansas safety seat requirements, read the The Kansas Child Passenger Safety Act.

For information on Missouri safety seat requirements, visit MO Dot.

Both Missouri and Kansas requires that children under the age of 4 must be secured in an appropriate child safety seat. Children ages 4-7 are to be properly restrained in a car seat or booster seat unless they meet the height or weight requirement. If a child weighs at least 80 pounds or is at least 4'9" tall, that child must be in either a booster seat or a seat belt.

Under Missouri law, if a child weighs under 40 pounds, a car seat must be used regardless of the child's age.

If you are involved in a motor vehicle collision in which a child safety seat was in the motor vehicle, you should have the seat inspected to make sure it was not damaged and can still be used safely.

For child safety seat inspection stations in Missouri and Kansas, visit NHTSA.