Fort Myers Accident Lawyer Looks at the History of Child Safety Seats

Fort Myers Accident Lawyer Looks at the History of Child Safety Seats

The history of child seats and why they have become so important for the safety of your children is critical to review. It wasn’t until 1971 that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) required a car seat secured by a seat belt as the first child restraint system.

Since then, things have come a long way. By 1999, new car seats were introduced, and there were new standards for child restraint systems. Child seats have been designed to protect the brain and spinal cord of a child during a South Florida crash. Seats are manufactured to absorb the shock of an impact, and they are designed to cradle an infant properly and position older children correctly to minimize injuries in the event of a wreck.

In the last decade, car manufacturers started equipping vehicles with tethers and latch systems to make it easier for parents to attach the car seat into the car securely. Through the years, child safety has continued to be a priority due to the fact that car crashes in Florida and throughout this nation are the number one killer of small children.

Those who still believe that babies should still be allowed to be taken home from the hospital in someone’s arms should look at these facts:

• Proper restraint use saved 244 children ages four and younger in 2008.
• Child safety seats reduce the risk of death by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers.
• Booster seats reduce the risk of injury by 59% for children ages four to seven.