Study Finds Majority Parents are Misusing Seats
They're the plastic and belts that could be the key to keeping your kid safe. But car seats only work when they're installed properly and chances are the one in your back seat is being misused. ABC2 News Investigator Joce Sterman is exposing the common mistakes you make that might put your child in danger in the tot seat.
The results can be catastrophic. But the twisted metal and shattered glass are little compared to the damage that can be done to a child in a car accident. Parents like Andrea Wheatley fear what can happen. And she has good reason. She and her then eight-month-old daughter, Alyssa, were the involved in an accident almost five years ago. She says, "All this fear consumed me because she could be covered in blood back there."
Wheatley has lived the terrifying moments no parent wants to experience. She looks at her daughter differently now, knowing that wreck could have ended much differently. The pair was at a dead stop when they were hit by a car going about 50 miles per hour. Wheatley tells ABC2, "I just remember everything in my car went everywhere." Everything moved but little Alyssa. She walked away without a scratch. Her mom credits the car seat she had installed by professionals.
Susan Ziegfeld has seen the proof of effective car seat installation firsthand. She’s the manager of the Pediatric Trauma and Burn unit at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. When it comes to proper car seat use, Ziegfeld says, "They save lives. There's no other way to describe it. They absolutely save lives."
According to Ziegfeld, injuries from car crashes are the second most common thing her team sees. And she says they’re the kind of injuries that can be tough to recover from, "We see very significant injuries. It's not like falling off a bicycle and breaking your leg. We see significant head injuries."
And those life changing injuries can be prevented. But having a car seat isn't enough. You've got to use it the right way. Unfortunately, a study from Johns Hopkins found that a staggering 92% of the 500 seats they inspected were being misused. That's why we asked certified safety technician Stephanie Parsons to help us find some common mistakes in the cars of ABC2 staffers and their friends. It was shockingly easy.
Finding Mistakes was Easy
In one car, we found the parent using both the L.A.T.C.H. system and the seatbelt to secure their child’s seat. And as Parsons explains in this situation, taking too many precautions can actually end up harming your child. She tells ABC2, "In the case of a crash, the torque would pull the seat in different directions and could actually cause a negative impact."
Another negative we spotted in several cars were those seat protectors you can buy. Parsons says they're a not recommended, "Basically, you want your seat as tight and as close to the seat as possible. Anything in between can decrease the safety of the seat."
Safety can also be compromised by those add-on products you put in your car or on the car seat specifically, including baby mirrors you mount to the car so you can watch your child. Parsons says they're a distraction to you. They also can become a projectile if you’re involved in a crash, that’s why experts say you should keep your back seat free of anything that could go flying.
You've also got to ditch those adorable toys and cozies you attach to the baby’s car seat. Parsons says “cozies” can force the car seat harness into the wrong position and actually pull the belt away from your baby, "Parents think they're protecting their child from the belt but the belt is there for a purpose and you want it as close to the child as possible."
And when it comes to protecting your child, it's about seat fit and not just position. The center is considered the safest spot, but if you've got a shaky connection like the one we saw in one car, which had the seat tethered to a plastic console, you need to move to the side where you can lock it down to bolted metal.
As for Alyssa and Andrea’s accident, the snug fit of their seat may have been the saving grace. Wheatley says, "It was just such a relief to be able to hold her and know she was okay." It was all thanks to a car seat secured the right way by a pro, someone who made sure the baby's seat was the safest one behind the wheel.
