Keeping Your Toddler Safe in the Car

Keeping Your Toddler Safe in the Car

Picking the Right Car Seat for Your Toddler

Picking the Right Car Seat for Your Toddler

Understanding the Features of Vehicles Made Before 1996

Understanding the Features of Vehicles Made Before 1996

Understanding Vehicle Features Made Between 1996 and 2002

Understanding Vehicle Features Made Between 1996 and 2002

Understanding the Features of Vehicles Made After 2002

Understanding the Features of Vehicles Made After 2002

How to Install Your Toddler's Forward Facing Safety Seat

How to Install Your Toddler's Forward Facing Safety Seat

How to Secure Your Toddler in a Car Seat

How to Secure Your Toddler in a Car Seat

Common Mistakes When Putting Toddler in Their Car Seats

Common Mistakes When Putting Toddler in Their Car Seats

Dealing With Fussy Children in the Car

Dealing With Fussy Children in the Car

One Minute Car Safety Seat Check for Your Child

One Minute Car Safety Seat Check for Your Child

Additional Car Safety Tips for Your Family

Additional Car Safety Tips for Your Family

How to Keep Your Family Safe in the Car

How to Keep Your Family Safe in the Car

Keeping Your Baby Safe in the Car

Keeping Your Baby Safe in the Car

Keeping Your Toddler Safe in the Car

Keeping Your Toddler Safe in the Car

How to Keep Your Older Child Safe in the Car

How to Keep Your Older Child Safe in the Car

How to Improve Gas Mileage

How to Improve Gas Mileage

Improving Gas Mileage - Tires

Improving Gas Mileage - Tires

Improving Gas Mileage - Wheel Alignment

Improving Gas Mileage - Wheel Alignment

Improving Gas Mileage - Clean Air Filter

Improving Gas Mileage - Clean Air Filter

Improving Gas Mileage - Fuel Injection and Spark Plugs

Improving Gas Mileage - Fuel Injection and Spark Plugs

Improving Gas Mileage - Things to Do While Driving

Improving Gas Mileage - Things to Do While Driving

Improving Gas Mileage When Driving

Improving Gas Mileage When Driving

Improving Gas Mileage - Changing How You Drive

Improving Gas Mileage - Changing How You Drive

Improving Gas Mileage - Vehicle Maintenance

Improving Gas Mileage - Vehicle Maintenance

Improving Gas Mileage - Advance Planning

Improving Gas Mileage - Advance Planning

Improving Gas Mileage - Gas Saving Extras

Improving Gas Mileage - Gas Saving Extras

Improving Gas Mileage - What Determines Gas Prices

Improving Gas Mileage - What Determines Gas Prices

View more ...

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 the Features of Vehicles Made Before 1996

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

This expert: 233,870 views
This series: 56,483 views

Download to Mobile Device

Print

Transcripts

Stephanie Tombrello: Hello I am Stephanie Tombrello, Executive Director of SafetyBeltSafe, U.S.A. and I am here to talk to you about how to protect your children in the car. Now, I would like to talk to you about some of the features of vehicles made before 1996, which might impact how you would protect your child.

First, we want to know that these cars often have lap belts in the back, some of them also have shoulder lap belts, but this is a kind of belt that is very nice for installing a car seat.

This bar inside the buckle is what holds the seat or the person tightly when you tilt the buckle like this you can see it slides easily. When you put the buckle at the angle that you would buckle it in the car, I can pull as hard as I want and it will not move.

As soon as I tilt it, it gets longer. So for a car seat, we'll put it through the car seat, and as long as the angle is correct you will get a very tight fit. This particular shoulder lap belt that I am wearing also allows a good fit with the car seat because it has the same locking latch plate at this point, it will hold the car seat in. But many cars made in this timeframe have safety belts, which cannot be manually locked, they only lock when the car in a crash or sudden stop. It's the motion of the car that locks the belts. That's fine for people, but it doesn't work very well for car seats because the car seats can't tense themselves and get prepared when the car is going to stop, and they simply slide around or fall over.

You will notice that there is very little support in the back seat for my body and particularly for my head or neck, so there would be a real risk of whiplash. With an older child in a car like this, you are trying to use a booster seat without a back on it, you would -- although have a shoulder lap belt to use with booster seat, you would not have support for the child's head and back because they will be sitting up higher.

Therefore in this type of seat, you will want to use a booster seat with a back on it. Finally in the front seat you will notice there are no air bags that can be seen as an advantage of you have a full car of children because you don't have to worry about the air bag in the front, but obviously it doesn't give the kind of protection for adults and teenagers, as having the passenger and a driver's airbag.

A really important part of protecting your child is learning what you have in your vehicle and this book the owner's manual is a good place to start. Right in the beginning, there will be information about where there's material about safety belts and safety seats for children, and when you go to that section, you will find all kinds of information.

In this car you can put a tether anchor for your child who is sitting forward facing in a car seat and so we encourage you to do this because it makes a big difference in protection in a crash or even in a sudden stop.

This is the page and this one that shows where in the car the tether anchor is and how the dealer should put it in for you. Now, we are going to go on and talk about that features of vehicles made between 1996 and 2002.

Baby and Me Yoga

Baby and Me Yoga

Baby and Me Yoga - Getting Centered

Baby and Me Yoga - Getting Centered

Baby and Me Yoga - Massage

Baby and Me Yoga - Massage

Baby and Me Yoga - Warmup and Tummy Time

Baby and Me Yoga - Warmup and Tummy Time

Baby and Me Yoga - Kegel Exercises

Baby and Me Yoga - Kegel Exercises

Baby and Me Yoga - Sun Salutations

Baby and Me Yoga - Sun Salutations

Baby and Me Yoga - Tree Pose

Baby and Me Yoga - Tree Pose

Baby and Me Yoga - Ball Exercises

Baby and Me Yoga - Ball Exercises

Baby and Me Yoga - Core Strengthening

Baby and Me Yoga - Core Strengthening

Baby and Me Yoga - Hip Openers

Baby and Me Yoga - Hip Openers