Stay safe and buckle up

Car seat safety

Keeping children safe

• Motor vehicle crashes are #1 cause of death among children
• Child safety seats can reduce fatal injury up to 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers

Tips on using your car seat

Harness safety

• Straps should lie flat.
• Straps should be placed through the slots below your child's shoulders for a rear-facing seat and at or above your child's shoulders for a forward-facing seat.
• Place the chest clip at armpit level.
• It's snug when you can't pinch any extra strap material at the shoulder.

Rear-facing infant seat

• Installation: Make sure your car seat base is installed at the correct recline angle. Babies must ride sitting semi-reclined so their airways remain open. The latch system or the seat belt can be used, but not both.
• Rule: Keep infants and toddlers in rear-facing seats until age 2, or until they reach the maximum height and weight listed for their car seat model.

Forward-facing car seat

• Installation: Place the seat in the back seat only. Lock the seat belt or lower anchors, and attach the top tether. Each seat may have a different limit for using the anchors and tether, so check your car seat for specifics.
• Rule: Once forward-facing, children should be buckled in a five-point harness car seat system until they either reach age 4 or weight 40 pounds, whichever comes first.

Booster seat

• Belt: Position the lap and shoulder belt on your child – correctly positioning the lap belt across his/her upper thighs and the shoulder belt across the center of his/her chest.
• Position: Never put the shoulder belt behind your child's back or under his or her arm.
• Rule: Most children will need to ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until they reach 4 feet 9 inches tall and are between 8 and 12 years of age.