Accidents happen unexpectedly and are not deliberate. Traffic collision is a category of accident that can cause injury, death and damage to property. Deaths due to traffic collision, for instance in the United States with some of the most technological advances and safety measures is 40,000 annually. Though the safety requirements are increasing and accident rates are generally decreasing, the number of injured and deaths have been increasing. This is due to more traffic, rising population and more travelers.
Safety devices and systems are of two types – the active and the passive safety devices and systems. The active safety devices and systems are those that require the occupant of the vehicle to act such as fastening seat belt. The passive safety devices and systems are those that operate on its own such as air bags on sudden jerks or collision.
Children are more vulnerable to accidents amongst all travelers. Being lighter and smaller than adults, they are more prone to being thrown off or dislodged on impact from collision or sudden jerks. Active seat belts as well as air bags are definitely useful. But special safety measures are required to be adopted for children according to their age, height and weight. Such safety measures are required to be adopted as per regulations in some countries. Child seat and child safety locks are part of such measures. Power window lockouts are useful to prevent the children from interfering with the windows and doors.
There are specially designed seat for infants. These infant safety seats are secured to the automobile seat. When there are sudden jerks or collisions, the infant seat belt holds the child firmly. These are now a part of the safety regulations prescribed in some countries. There are different models of infant seat belts on sales in the market. Britax Frontier Seat has advanced shock-absorption and cushioning. These are also easy to set up.
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe has come out with its ‘Regulation R44-04’ as the recommended international safety standard for baby and child seats. The International Organization for Standardization has also introduced safety standards for car seats in 1990 called ISOFIX. LACTH is the United States equivalent of this standard. Baby seats that comply with ISOFIX standards are introduced in some automobiles.
Tags: Babies, baby, baby car seats, baby safety, car seats, children, family, Parenting, safety, toddlers, travel