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Keeping Your Baby Safe in the Car

Understanding Vehicle Features Made Between 1996 and 2002

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  • Stephanie Tombrello

    Executive Director, SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A.

    http://www.carseat.org/   
     

    SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. the national, non-profit organization dedicated to child passenger safety. Our mission is to help reduce the number of serious and fatal traffic injuries suffered by children by promoting the correct, consistent use of safety seats and safety belts. Founded in 1980, SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. is nationally recognized for program excellence, training, and up-to-date technical materials. We provide consultation to advocates, parents, business leaders, the media, and professionals working in the fields of health care, traffic safety, and education. Stephanie M. Tombrello, L.C.S.W., Executive Director of SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A., has been involved in child passenger safety since 1970. While shopping for a car seat for her infant daughter, she was shocked to learn that most of the models available in stores were unsafe. Stephanie and several other early pioneers in the field successfully petitioned the federal government to require crash testing for child restraints. She also wrote the petition which resulted in the federal requirement for manufacturers to provide shoulder belts in the rear seats of all post-1989 passenger vehicles.In 1980, Stephanie founded a grassroots organization in the Los Angeles area which evolved to become SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. Under her leadership, the organization has become the premier resource for child passenger safety in the nation. Stephanie is a nationally certified Child Passenger Safety Technician-Instructor and was appointed in 1995 to the National Blue Ribbon Panel on Child Restraint & Vehicle Compatibility.

  • Understanding Vehicle Features Made Between 1996 and 2002

    In this video, SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. Executive Director Stephanie Tombrello explains how to buckle up the expectant mother to protect her unborn baby, how to select the appropriate safety seat for a newborn or older baby, how to prevent injuries from air bags, how to install rear-facing safety seats correctly, and the safest location in the car for the baby. She shows common types of car seat misuse and explains how to keep a fussy baby buckled up. The final segments include a one-minute car safety check and additional safety tips for the whole family.

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  • Transcripts

    Stephanie Tombrello: Hello, I am Stephanie Tombrello, Executive Director of SafetyBeltSafe U.

    S.

    A. and I am here to tell you how to protect your baby in the car. Now, we are going to talk about some of the features of vehicles made between 1996 and 2002 and how these features might affect, how you transport your children. One of the most important things that happened in 1996 is that lockability of safety belts became mandate by Federal Government. So cars now have shoulder lap belts that look like the ones made before, but have an extra feature that make them capable of being locked.

    Instead of having to put a locking clip on, many of these belts lock by pulling the shoulder belt all the way out to the very end and then as you let it go back you can hear a ratcheting taking up the slack and now it will stay tight and hold the car seat tightly in place for ordinary driving. That's very good also for children who are dwelling into booster seats after having been in tightly harness safety seats, by locking the belt on them. It makes it easier for them to stay in position in the booster seat and not to get slack in the belt.

    As we continue to talk about some of the features of vehicles between 1996 and 2002, we can't ignore the fact that there are passenger air bags in the front seats of vehicles. Since we do not recommend that children ride in the front seat, most of the time that isn't a indirect issue. However, there are vehicles that only have front seats or where the back seats are side facing and you really can't put a safety seat on a side facing vehicle seat. In those cases, you need to have a way to switch off the air bag, especially and absolutely, if you are going to put a child who is facing the rear in the front seat. If you don't, there could be fatality. If you are able to switch off the air bag and you don't have a suitable back seat, then you may put a rear-facing child in the front seat.

    Always remember that a child loses about 40% of his or her protection by riding in the front seat. When I am talking with parents and people who are learning about child passenger safety, I often tell them that the best way to understand your own belt system is to go and pretend you are the car seat and feel how the belt system works. When you have an emergency locking belt system like this, when you have it in the emergency locking mode, can you see that I can move my upper and lower body, but once I have got it in that ratchet mode and in the lock mode by pulling it all the way out, I can't move at all. I am a tightly attached safety seat and now we have talked about some of the features that might impact how you would put a safety seat or a child in a vehicle made between 1996 and 2002. Next, we are going to talk about vehicles made after 2002.

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