Car accidents and other traffic crashes are the leading cause of death and acquired disability of children and teens in Minnesota. The correct use of car seats can increase the chances of children surviving Minnesota car accidents and surviving accidents with fewer serious injuries.

Minnesota passed child restraint laws to protect children from injury and death in Minnesota car accidents. In order for these child restraint laws to be effective, parents and caregivers must know the child restraint laws and obey them every time they travel in a car or other motor vehicle with a child.

Minnesota Statute 169.685 requires all drivers to correctly place children under the age of eight, and shorter than 4 feet, 9 inches, in one of the following child safety seats that meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213:

— Infant car seat: This type of car seat is designed for infants up to 20-35 pounds. An infant car seat reclines to 45 degrees and faces to the rear of the vehicle. It is not to be used in the front seat of a motor vehicle with passenger-side airbags. Look for an infant seat that is easy to install, has a five-point safety harness (rather than a plastic shield or t-bar restraint), front belt adjustment design, lower anchors to secure it to the vehicle, machine-washable detachable cover and well-padded with plenty of head support. It is safest to use a rear-facing child seat for as long as physically possible.

— Convertible car seat: This type of child restraint can be used for infants and children up to 60-70 pounds depending on manufacturer and design. A convertible car seat functions as a rear-facing seat for babies and toddlers and as a forward-facing seat for older children. When buying a convertible car seat, look for many of the same features as when shopping for an infant car seat: easy to install, 5-point safety harness, front belt adjustment design, machine-washable cover, well-padded and lower anchor and top tether (LATCH) to secure the car seat to the vehicle. The LATCH system makes installation of a car seat easier and safer by attaching it directly to the vehicle instead of using the seat belt to secure it.

— Belt-positioning booster seat: These seats are for children who are at least 3 and weigh at least 40 pounds. They elevate children so that they can be restrained by the vehicle\’s three point harness (lap and shoulder belt). The belt-positioning booster seat provides restraint for the pelvis and upper torso in an accident rather than concentrating accident forces on the child’s abdomen.

Even if car seats meet the federal safety standards, they must be installed and used correctly to protect children. The most common errors when buckling up kids are: harness straps too loose, retainer clip on chest harness too low, child car seat too loose, infant seat carrying handle in wrong position and failing to use top tether strap.

New car seats that meet the minimum FMVSS 213 may still allow serious and perhaps fatal injuries to properly restrained children. Problems that can compromise the benefits of child safety seats include manufacturing defects (defectively manufactured plastic shells, harnesses and accessories), design defects (shell design, buckle and latch design, inadequate padding and harness design) and inadequate warnings and instructions (studies reveal a high percentage of all child safety seats are improperly installed, primarily due to poorly worded, inadequate and confusing instructions).

According to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, when child seats are used correctly they reduce the chance of death by 70% for infants less than one-year old and by 54% for toddlers from the age of one through four-years-old. Partners for Child Passenger Safety reported that the belt-positioning booster seat reduces a child’s risk of injury by 59%.

Each year, many children suffer serious or fatal injuries in Minnesota auto accidents even though they were restrained in child safety seats or booster seats. In many cases, these injuries and deaths could have been prevented if the children had been properly restrained in well-designed, well-built and properly installed child safety seats or booster seats. Our children are worth the effort it takes to not only purchase quality, well-fitting child restraints but then to learn how to properly anchor, tether and buckle-up.

Author Bio: Pritzker Olsen child injury lawyers have recovered money for children injured and families whose children died in Minnesota car accidents. Our child safety lawyers will hold wrongdoers accountable for the harms and losses they cause by filing child car seat lawsuits.

Category: Parenting
Keywords: Minnesota car accident attorney, child injury, wrongful death, car seat lawsuit, car seat laws