Safety Information 
Important Car Seat Statistics
Installing a car seat correctly is the most important thing you can do to protect your child or newborn if you are in a crash. If you ever doubted how important a car seat is you’ll change your mind once you realize the shocking facts about automobile accidents. First and most importantly, most parents assume that their child is safe whether their car seat is installed correctly. This is FALSE! Other parents mistakenly believe they installed their seat correctly. Unfortunately this is often not the case.
If you use your car seat wrongly or install it improperly you might be in for a big surprise. Studies conducted by transportation authorities in Canada and the U.S. show that four of every ten children are not riding in their car seats correctly. This is because of either improper installation or use of a car seat. Why might this concern you?
Car seats save babies lives. Your baby's risk of death or injury increases tenfold when your car seat is improperly installed or misused. When used correctly, your baby's odds of surviving a bad wreck increase 71%. When you are in a car crash, the force your child bears is equal to the weight of the child times the speed before the crash. So if your baby for example, weights 20 pounds, and you are driving 40 mph when you crash, your baby will undergo 1600 pounds of force in just a second. That force can kill. Fortunately a properly installed car seat can help reduce the impact your child will experience in a crash.
Tips For Installing Your Car Seat Correctly The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently reported that up to 82 percent of infant car seats are installed wrongly, increasing the risk of severe injury or mortality if an accident occurs. What can you do to lessen the risk your child faces? One thing you can do is consider buying a car seat with a LATCH system. Automobiles made after 2002 feature LATCH systems that help you install a carseat more safely. Many new infant carriers come with LATCH compatible systems. Britax and Graco for example make car seats compatible with this system.
You should also consider having your installation checked out be a certified car seat safety inspector. You can do this at your local fire station. In fact, your better-off just calling. Many have routine car seat installation days where they will inspect and even install your child's car seat free. These technicians have at least 32 hours training in proper car seat installation. That's probably 32 more hours than you'll ever have to figure out how to safely install your baby’s car seat.
If you do need to install your seat on your own at least initially, here are some tips for doing it right:
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1. First, check to make sure you have the right seat. An infant
carrier for example, will only hold a baby up to 1-year old and 20
pounds. If your baby falls outside this range you'll need a
different seat.
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2. If possible always position your child's carseat in the rear of
the car. This is the safest place for your baby. The middle of the
backseat in fact is by far the safest place. You should never place
your baby's car seat in the front passenger side if there is an air
bag there you can't deactivate or uninstall.
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3. Be sure before starting you read your car seat manufacturers user
guide carefully and completely.
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4. Once you install the seat, either using a LATCH system or
traditional belt, check to make sure the seat doesn't move more than
one inch in any direction.
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5. If using a rear facing seat or infant carrier make sure the seat
is angled properly to support your babies head.
Because it is so important, its worth saying again. If you have any questions or concerns about installing your child’s car seat, have it checked out by a certified technician. This only takes a short amount of time and can save you loads of headaches when trying to install your baby’s carseat. When it comes to your child’s safety, you deserve the best! Remember that most seats are installed incorrectly the first time. By having someone check it over you can rest assured that your baby is safe while riding in your vehicle.
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Ant Arthur is a successful freelance writer with 10 years of professional experience providing consumers with informative articles on such topics as Baby Carriers, Baby Slings and Baby Car Seats Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ant_Arthur |
Road Rage Impairs Driving Safety!
Road rage is often referred as the aggressive
emotion between drivers caused by difficult driving conditions disguised
in the name of traffic. Imagine a hypothetical scenario where you drive
next to some guy who doesn’t give you space to make a turn and he is far
beyond the posted speed limit. Does this irate you to certain extent
that you revolt back?? If so, you are raging on road.
Signs & Symptoms of road rage
• Tailgating.
• Obscene gesturing.
• Blasting the horn.
• Racing to beat a yellow light that’s about to change into red.
• Traveling in the passing or left lane at a slower speed, making it
impossible for others to pass.
• Cutting people off.
• Slowing down after passing someone.
• Changing lanes without signaling
• Frequently changing lanes by weaving back and forth
• Not making a right turn in the right-hand turn lane.
• Not reacting quickly after the red light turns green
• Flashing lights in order to signal persons to move to another lane.
• Driving with the high beams on behind another vehicle or toward
oncoming traffic.
Myth: are aggressive driving and road rage same?
Aggressive driving is a traffic offense or combination of offenses such
as following too closely, speeding, unsafe lane changes, failing to
signal intent to change lanes, and other forms of negligent or
inconsiderate driving.
While Road rage on the other hand, is a criminal offense, norm
prescribed by DMV. This occurs when a traffic incident manifests
into a serious situation. These violent acts might include physical
confrontation to an assault with a motor vehicle or possibly a weapon.
Remedy
A preliminary action would be to act dumb, avoid responding back to the
misdemeanors. If the other driver's aggressive behavior is intentional,
the best thing to do is to avoid eye contact and get out of the way.
Don't create a competitive environment between you and the other driver.
This vengeance makes you forget your driving laws.
Defensive driving skills make a significant change in your driving
attitude.
Apart from psychological disturbance and physical injury, the aggressive
feeling affects the driving in the ways like speeding, ignoring road
signs, poor lane discipline and lack of courtesy.
Highly recommended tips to avoid road rage- these are simple driving
tips
• don't take traffic problems personally
• don't tailgate
• use your horn sparingly
• don't block the right hand turn lane
• don't block the passing lane
• avoid eye contact with an aggressive driver
• don't make obscene gestures
These are just a few suggestions to reduce the risk of road rage.
Never drive at the extremities of slow or defense. Treat the other road
users as you wanted to be treated by them. Do remember tolerance is a
virtue and patience does pay for your safety on roads.
Drivers involved in truck driving need to track their attitude while
driving. These giants merely take away lives at the very infraction
itself. They cause higher damage than the general automobiles. Hence
forth it is quintessential to be relaxed and enduring while driving
behind the wheel.
Ignorance is surely bliss. Especially to avoid becoming a victim of a
"road rage" driver. Be calm and patient. This serene driving attitude is
helpful for you and healthier for road safety. You can read many more
tips and information @
driving safety
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Staying Safe on the Road This Summer
Come summer and you'll find the highways and roads chock-a-block with vacationers and merrymakers driving to various destinations. More traffic on the road means more accidents and these figures become alarming. Studies show, there's an automobile accident every 18 seconds and a death every 11 minutes on the road.
Safety Rules
By adhering to a few safety rules, you can ensure not only your own safety, but that of your family too. Let's see what they are:
* The first step before driving off is to pack your car properly, especially if you're carrying sporting and camping equipment. Tie your loads securely and don't let them block your view of the road. Drive more slowly, if you're carrying a large load.
* Before driving out be sure to buckle up and make sure everyone else does too. Use booster and child car seats for babies and young children. You'd be surprised to know that vehicle collision is the leading cause of death among children from ages 1 to 9.
* Be safe by adhering to safe driving practices. This includes staying calm at the wheel, keeping a safe speed and being courteous to other drivers. Speeding, tailgating, weaving in and out of traffic and not yielding the right-of-way increases your risk of accidents.
* Always remain on the lookout for traffic, since not only will there be a number of cars on the road, but cyclists and motorcyclists will come out of hibernation too in this season. Also, be careful near schools and be alert for pedestrians.
* Summer brings with it a lot of construction work on roads and highways, especially in the northern states that receive a good amount of snow or rain during the other seasons. So, anticipate this and maintain a safe speed within the construction zones, keeping the safety of road workers in mind.
* Since long drives and the heat can take their toll while driving, it's best to stop at a safe rest area and treat yourself to a drink or an ice cream. This will rejuvenate you and make you more alert when you continue on the road.
* Whatever you take as refreshment, don't drink alcoholic beverages, since drinking and driving just don’t mix. Also, don't overindulge in alcohol if you're to drive back from a get together with family and friends or a picnic or barbeque. If you do indulge, let someone sober take the wheel.
If you don't want to end up as part of road accident statistics, it's necessary to adhere to these basic safety tips. With these, you'll not only enjoy your vacation or outing, but will remain safe too, and that’s the most important thing.
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Child Safety Airbag Tips
Airbags are deemed important for preventing injuries and deaths in car crashes. Yes, that’s what most surveys have noted. It was in fact reported by recent researches that airbags save more than 1,500 lives per year. That may seem amazing in the first place, but just like any thing in the world, airbags have their own disadvantages. Although it is highly beneficial for reducing the chances of injury for adults in a crash, the force of an airbag when deployed can injure the small children seriously and severely.
Well, the real reason for its being injurious to toddlers is that when deployed, the airbags have the tendency to inflate faster than the blink of an eye. They tend to explode out of the dashboard and side panels of the car to protect the driver and the front seat passenger from hitting hard surfaces during a crash. But imagine that same force hitting a small child in the front seat of the car. As you may realize, that’s too dangerous for them. It is basically for this reason that certain child safety airbag tips are considered.
Now if you want to know exactly how to protect your small children from the injurious force of deployed airbags, I recommend you to read on. I have given below a few child safety airbag tips for you to consider. Just note all these child safety airbag tips and make sure to apply these tips if possible.
* Children under the age of 12, including newborns, should ride in the rear seat, buckled up comfortably. For further security, parents are advised to use child safety seats, booster seats or safety belts that fit well to them.
* To ensure that the child safety airbag will not hit your child so badly, place your infants in a rear facing child seat and fasten securely in the back seat of the car. Note that the perfect place for children is the back seat.
* It is important to ensure that your child is buckled up with both lap and shoulder belts on every trip. It is also important to move the front passenger and the driver seat as far back from the dashboard as practical.
* If you carry with you an infant that needs constant attention, you should bring another adult to ride with them. This is suggested as part of this child safety airbag tips knowing that it is easy to get distracted, which is not good when driving.
* Always wear your safety belt, and make your child securely buckled up on his comfortable seat.
So those basically are the most helpful child safety airbag tips I’ve known. Consider them and you will benefit on how effective they are for preventing child injuries during car crashes.
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