Safety beyond the womb
Protecting your children on car rides



Over the past four months, it’s been nearly impossible to concentrate on work.
All I do is think about the tiny baby growing inside me. It’s even harder to focus now that I have my ultrasound picture taped to my computer. My little, blurry, lima-bean shaped child seems to be saying, "How important is the zoning board when I’m here""

So, as I know the zoning board is important to some people, I write. But, I keep thinking of my baby. I wonder if he or she will be a quiet writer like I am or a charming salesman like my husband. I wonder what his or her laugh will sound like and who he or she will resemble.
Then I think of my lack of experience with babies and wonder how I will handle it all. Will I know what my baby’s cry means and what to do"
And, what baby supplies will I need" This weekend we cleaned out a spare bedroom for the baby. But, I only have one thing so far. My best friend, a photographer, sent us a photo album.
Before March, I will have to go shopping and pick out many more supplies. But, how do I know what to select"

This week, I interviewed Roger Dames to help me with one worry — choosing a car seat. I was amazed at how complicated it was, not to choose the seat, but how to properly use it. Dames gave great advice that every parent should follow.

Serious selection

Dames, a retired police officer, is the traffic-safety coordinator for traffic-safety services at the Capital District Bureau of the American Automobile Association. He’s seen many accidents in his career, he said, and he’s passionate about making sure babies and children are properly secure when traveling.
"Seat belts and children really aren’t made for each other," Dames said. "Seat belts are made for adults."

Therefore, he said, safety seats for babies and booster chairs for children are necessary.

Hospitals won’t let new mothers leave with their babies unless they have a federally-approved car seat. Dames told me I have two choices for my baby.

One is an infant carrier. These are small seats with handles that can be taken in and out of the car and used to transport the baby. The downside to these seats, Dames said, is that, after the baby is four to six months old, he or she will outgrow the infant carrier.

The other choice is a convertible car seat, which remains in the car. This can be used for a child weighing up to 100 pounds, Dames said.

Until the baby weighs 20 pounds, the car seat should face the back of the car, Dames said. Facing the back of the car is safer for babies, he said, because, if there is a crash, the plastic shell of the car seat is designed to protect and cushion the baby. The seat reinforces the baby’s neck and spine, he said.

As the baby gets bigger, the car seat can face forward, Dames said. But, he said, it should always be in the middle of the back seat, to give the baby more protection if the car is struck on the sides.

A car seat should never be placed in the front seat of a car, he said.

Every car seat sold in a store now is federally approved, Dames said. The law requires that babies travel in federally-approved car seats.

In March of this year, the state also passed a law requiring that children up to age seven ride in a booster seat.
Dames recommends that children even older than that ride in a booster seat. At a recent AAA safety check, he said, "I put a 12-year-old in a booster seat because she was so tiny and small and brittle."

Five questions should be asked to determine if a child needs a booster seat, Dames said. They are:
— Does the child sit all the way back against the seat in the car"
— Do the child’s knees bend comfortably around the seat"
— Does the seat belt cross the child’s shoulder between his neck and arms"
— When the seat belt is fastened, does it extend across the child’s hips and not his abdomen"
— Can the child stay seated comfortably during the whole trip"
If the answer to any of these questions is "no," Dames said, the child needs a booster seat.

Common mistakes

AAA, as do many local police agencies, offers free checks of car seats to make sure they are being properly used.

On one held on Sept. 24 by AAA Hudson Valley, Dames and another specialist checked 28 cars seats. Of the 28, he said, only two were being used properly.

I was amazed at AAA’s statistics — four out of five child-safety seats are used incorrectly, with an average of three mistakes per seat.

In 2001, nearly 500 children under age five were killed in car crashes. Over 200 of those deaths were of children in car seats designed to save their lives. Also that year, 31,700 children were injured in their car seats.

One of the biggest problems with the car seats is that they are too loose, Dames said. When a seat is properly hooked in, he said, a parent shouldn’t be able to move the car seat more than an inch from side to side.
"It should be cemented in," he said.

Another mistake is that the harness of the car seat is too loose, Dames said. Some parents are afraid of strapping their children in too tightly, he said, but, if they don’t, and an accident occurs, the child can be seriously injured or killed.
Also, he said, the retainer clip, or harness that comes down over a child’s head, should be fastened in the child’s chest area or "armpit to armpit."

Some car seats are equipped with a new system called LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children). It’s a system of hooks and clips so the seat can be strapped into the car without using a seat belt, Dames said.

A problem, however, is many parents use the LATCH system and also fasten a seat belt over the car seat, he said. This secures the car seat too much, he said, so, if there is an accident, the seat can’t tilt into a position to protect the child.

Also with the LATCH system, some cars aren’t equipped to accommodate the hooks in the middle of the back seat, Dames said. Parents should read their driver’s manuals first, he said, for information on car-seat installation.

But, he said, neither the LATCH system or using a seat belt across the car seat is more effective than the other.

Rear-facing car seats have to sit at a 45-degree angle, Dames went on, but the seats of many vehicles can’t accommodate this. He suggested parents place Styrofoam under their children’s car seats to position the seats at 45-degree angles.

People also don’t realize that the seat belts and harnesses of car seats are twisted when they fasten them, Dames said. When a parent takes her child out of the car seat, she should fasten the harness, so it doesn’t get tangled, he said.

After I select my car seat, Dames told me, I shouldn’t buy toys or pillows or other accessories that are sold separately. The car seat wasn’t designed to be used with these items and they can interfere with the child’s safety, if an accident occurs, he said.

Also, he said, if it’s still cold in March, I shouldn’t put my baby in a snow suit.
"Nothing should be between the baby’s body and the seat," Dames said.

Rather, he said, I should dress the baby warmly and then cover him or her with blankets or, after the baby is fastened in the seat, put his or her winter coat on backwards.

After speaking to Dames, I now feel confident about driving my baby anywhere, be it Altamont to see friends or Pennsylvania to visit family. I told him I’d visit the AAA safety check next year, so he could tell me my child is perfectly safe.