Is My Car Safe Enough?!

The Pregnancy Book for later.

Safety is always a consideration, but once you have a child who means the world to you it becomes more important than you can imagine!

How safe is your car?

You know the commercials on TV with the dummies crashing in the car? Well, that procedure and others actually give rather reliable info on the safety of the car in case of a crash. The National Highway Transportation Safety Association (NHTSA) web site, offers information on how vehicles withstand accidents as well as other useful information regarding safety issues. This site provides online test results for cars and trucks from 1990 onwards.

NHTSA: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/, it can give answers to almost any questions you have regarding safety of the vehicle you're intending to buy. They provide safety guidelines for tires and airbags, as well as different instructions on how to keep in control of your car (how to prevent rolling over, for example).

Positioning the child seat or booster

There are some very important guidelines you should keep, so that your child's car seat will give the best protection possible:

LATCH
LATCH stands for: Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children. From 2002 onwards, this new system is supposed to have been installed in every car manufactured. The LATCH system was designed to secure a car seat without using the seat belt system. Instead it uses anchors to stabilize the child's seat, making travel with children safer. The main advantage of the system is in lowering the risk of head injury. The LATCH is an important improvement in safety for your kids, but the older systems also stand to safety regulations, so you don't have to choose your car only according to this consideration.

The back seat
The safest place in the car is the rear seat, so if you can place the child or baby car seat there – it would be the best option. In reality, many people place the baby or child seat in the front seat. Whether because the back seat is too small or difficult to reach, or because it is a bit easier to give a pacifier to a screaming baby when he is beside you!
If your child travels in the front seat, make sure you switch off the airbags. Airbags can be very dangerous, especially for babies or young children. If your car doesn't have an automatic system switching off airbags when detecting a child or a person sitting too close, you can have a switch installed to turn off the airbag system.

Lap belts
Many cars have only lap belts in the middle seat, which is sometimes the most convenient place for your kid. But lap belts without shoulder straps are very dangerous for children under the age of 12. According to the NHTSA, lap belts alone may cause abdominal injuries. If the car you are considering doesn't have a shoulder strap in the middle seat, make sure you don't put your child there.

These matters might help you choose the right car for the new stage you are in. That red sports car you were dreaming of might have to wait for a few more years…

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