Can Parents Keep Infants & Toddlers Safe from Wilmington Car Accidents?

Wilmington auto accident attorney children are very vulnerable to being hurt in a motor vehicle accident. There are steps that parents can take to try to reduce the risk a child will be hurt or killed. Unfortunately, even if a child is properly secured in the back seat of a car, that young child could be severely hurt or killed if a driver is careless and causes an accident to happen. If a child sustains crash injuries, parents must be prepared to fight for compensation to get the child the best care possible. A driver who caused the accident can be held accountable for damages and parents can get the funds they need to pay for a lifetime of medical care for their kids, and to pay to provide an injured child with the highest possible quality of life. There are a few things parents can do to try to reduce the chances their infant or toddler will be fatally injured in a car accident. One of the single most important things that a parent needs to do is to use a car seat for an infant and to use a booster seat for an older child. According to CBS News, the risk that an infant will die in a car accident could be reduced by 71 percent if the infant is in a car seat at the time the motor vehicle accident occurs. For a toddler aged on to four, the risk of a car accident causing fatal injuries could be reduced by 54 percent if the child is in an appropriate car seat. Older children also need to be properly secured too. Parents.com reports that it is actually kids ages four to eight who face a bigger risk than toddlers and infants. The problem is that parents will put infants and toddlers into car seats, but usually become more lax and do not insist their older kids sit in booster seats. Safety guidelines suggest that kids continue to be secured in booster seats until around age eight, depending upon weight, but this often does not happen. According to CBS, research has shown many parents do not use car seats as recommended, so they are not providing the full benefits when it comes to safety for infants and toddlers. Parents can visit the fire department or local police station to get help installing a car seat in a safe way. Parents.com also warns that many parents are more casual about car safety when they are going on short trips, including allowing kids to sit in the front seat. Most accidents happen close to home, so best practices for safety should be followed all of the time including on a routine trip around town.