Use Of Safety Belts Without Booster Seats Could Be Dangerous
Experts who are trying to educate the vehicles users on the safety aspects of the
children wish that such eventualities are not experienced by other families. Children may suffer minor or major injuries due to improper use of the seat belts without booster seats.
Types of Dangers
Various types of dangers can occur for the children due to improper use of the seat belts not having the adequate booster seats.
Shoulder strap can free the body of the children and head can strike on the dash board or the console of the air conditioner.
Such injuries can be suffered by the children even while sitting in the middle of two elders in the back seat of a Lexus.
Vehicle seat belts have not been designed for the children as well as the adults below the height of five feet.
Solution in such cases for these people with short height is the appropriate booster seat.
At least until the children reach the height of 4 feet 9 inches, they should be using the booster seat.
Appropriate Use
It does not mean that just combining the seat belts with booster seats will help. Rather the two should perfectly match each others. Again the appropriate use of the seat belts is necessary. Children riding the seats improperly can often suffer injuries due to such use. More often than not the shoulder harness can come across the neck on impact. Again when the children are not tall enough, the chances of injuries due to loosening of seat belts are always greater.
Belts Fitting Properly
As soon as the children would outgrow the booster seat, they should start using the seat belts meant for the adults in the back seat. However the belt should fit them properly. That means the lap belt has to get across the upper thighs and at the same time the shoulder belt should fit across the chest of the person using them. Moreover, it is also the requirements as specified on the National Highway Safety Administration website.
Bottom line of all these is that more often than not people, and especially the children suffer injuries on the car seats due to their ignorance about the appropriate use of booster seat or the car seat belts. Learning the basics of proper use of these accessories is therefore necessary for safety of all concerned.