9 ways you can keep your child safer in a car

The #1 cause of injuries to children – more than 80% of all injuries –is the improper use of child safety seats. Child safety seats should be installed correctly and used every time a child rides in the car.

“Most car crashes occur within five miles of home and at speeds under twenty-five miles an hour," says David Nakabayashi, a certified child safety seat installer.

It makes good sense to have a certified safety seat installer help you install your child’s seat. The variety of child restraint devices can be confusing, so ask questions and have the seat rechecked to ensure it’s proper use. You will find a certified installer at the store where the seat was purchased. If you've purchased the seat online or received it as a gift, visit a local firehouse or police station for help. Also, many pediatric hospitals and maternity wards offer periodic child safety seat installation lessons and checkpoints.

What You Can Do?

Carefully read the instructions included with the child seat. Keep them handy at all times.

Never rely on "makeshift" measures in a hurry. Take your time to evaluate the best way to install the car seat into the car you are driving. Whether it is your everyday vehicle, a friend or family member’s car, or even a rental car, know if you have L.A.T.C.H. or non-L.A.T.C.H. installation equipment. The best way to understand each installation scenario is to carefully follow the seat’s instruction manual.

Have as the rule in your car that everyone must buckle their seatbelt, even for a short trip. Your child must be in a child safety seat and everyone else in the car should be buckled if not only for safety reasons, but to set a good example for the child to follow.

Your child should fit securely in the safety seat and the seat must fit securely into the car. If it doesn't, do not use it. Contact the child safety seat manufacturer at their customer support number to see what options you have.

Keep your eye on the road and not on the baby. Buy an inside rearview mirror so that you can see your baby without turning around. Consider treating a car ride like bedtime. You probably don't watch your baby sleep all through the night. A baby properly secured in a safety seat doesn't need constant watching. Leave yourself extra travel time. Then, if you really need to check on the baby, you can pull over.

Never ride with a child on your lap - it is the most dangerous place for the child. In the event of a car crash, you probably wouldn't be able to hold on to your child. Even if you could, your body could crush the child if you are both thrown against the dashboard and windshield.

Keep children in the back seat, away from the front which is most often the point of impact in a car accident.

Infant seats must be rear-facing and in the back seat.

Check the vehicle’s airbag position and whether or not the airbags are engaged. The force of opening passenger-side and rear airbags can seriously injure or kill an infant.

Secure all loose objects like groceries, toys and books so they don't hit the child in a sudden stop.

- David Nakabayashi is a certified safety seat specialist in Tokyo, Japan, and a car safety consultant to Baby Everywhere.