Child passenger safety (download pdf)

Choosing a child safety seat

Riding unrestrained, as do the vast majority of children in Oman, is the single greatest risk factor for death and injury among child passengers in a car crash or even a sudden stop. The best protection for your child in a crash is a child safety seat appropriate to his size. In a crash, properly restrained children come to a gradual stop along with the vehicle. But any child inside the vehicle who is not restrained or is loosely restrained will continue to move forward at the same speed of the vehicle before the crash until he slams into the car's hard, sharp interior surfaces or is catapulted through the windscreen onto the road outside.

Types of seats – the Four Stages

Stage 1	Stage 2	Stage 3	Stage 4

The best seat for a child is one that fits him or her and this is determined by the child’s weight, not age. Child safety seats are often described in terms of 'Stages' which correspond to certain weight ranges. Some safety seats are convertible or designed to overlap more than one stage. Read the manufacturer's instructions to check if a seat is suitable for your child and check that it fits your vehicle.

Reduce the risk of your child’s death in a crash by almost 70% by using the correct safety restraint.

Stage 1

Rear-facing Infant Seat (2 types) to a minimum of 1 year old
For babies from birth up to 9kg
For babies from birth up to 13kg

Infants are at greater risk of injury in crashes because their heads are large in proportion to their bodies, their neck bones are soft and the ligaments that help support the neck are stretchy. An infant seat cradles a baby’s head, neck and spine protecting him from sudden movement and spreading crash forces across his back.

Child trauma specialists now recommend you put your baby in a rear-facing infant seat from birth until he is at least 1 year old and weighs at least 9kg. That means that if your baby reaches 9 kg before his first birthday, he should remain rear-facing until he reaches one year old. If your baby is more than 1 year old but weighs 8.5 kg, he should remain rear-facing until he weighs 9kg.

Only move your baby to a forward-facing safety seat once he has exceeded the maximum weight for the baby seat, or the top of his head is higher than the top of the seat. Never put a rear-facing infant seat in the front seat of a car with an airbag unless it has been deactivated. Remember: the safest place for your baby's safety seat is in the back seat of your vehicle.

If your infant is premature, or is very small, a car bed may be required instead of an ordinary car seat (see below under Special needs).

Watch a video on choosing and installing a rear-facing infant seat. (Download Adobe flash player free here)

Stage 2

Forward facing child seat with built-in harness
For small children from at least 1 year old and at least 9kg up to 18kg

Keep your toddler in the rear-facing position up to the maximum weight allowed by the seat (check your car seat instruction manual or seat label for details) and as long as the top of her head is below the top of the safety seat back. When your toddler reaches the highest weight allowed by your rear-facing seat, you need to move her to a forward-facing child safety seat. The built-in harness will hold her in place in the event of a collision and distribute the impact forces evenly over her body. The sides of the seat cushion the delicate head and neck.

Remember: always install the safety seat in the back seat of your vehicle.

Watch a video on choosing and installing a forward facing child seat. (Download Adobe flash player free here)

Stage 3

High-back belt-positioning booster seat
For children from 15 - 25 kg

Once your child completely outgrows a Stage 2 safety seat you should switch her to a high-back belt-positioning booster seat held in the back of the vehicle by a lap-shoulder seat belt.

Research has shown that the use of belt-positioning booster seats lowers the risk of injury to children by nearly 60 percent compared to the use of seat belts for this age group. The booster seat can prevent injuries in a crash because it is designed to position the lap/shoulder belt of your car correctly over your child’s shoulders and upper thighs instead of over the stomach or against the neck. A high back seat also provides support for the upper body, head and neck.

Some Booster seats are designed to be converted into a booster cushion by detaching the back rest (but see below).

Remember: always install the booster seat in the back seat of your vehicle.

Watch a video on choosing and installing a booster seat. (Download Adobe flash player free here)

Stage 4

Booster cushion
For children up to 36kg and at least 145 cm tall

A booster cushion raises your child’s body so that the lap/shoulder belt is properly positioned over your child’s shoulders and upper thighs instead of over the stomach or against the neck to prevent injuries in a crash. You can use these in vehicles only with high seat backs or head rests until your child is tall enough to graduate safely to an adult seatbelt but beware, in a collision, they will not offer as much protection for the head and neck as a high-back booster.

Remember: always install the booster seat in the back seat of your vehicle.

	4 STEPS FOR KIDS
	Rear facing baby seat		Forward facing child seat		Booster seat		Booster cushion
	up to 13 kg		9-18 kg		15-25 kg		22-36 kg

Because your child deserves a safe ride

Seatbelts and airbags

Protecting the lives of older children is as important as protecting the lives of little ones. Many children between the ages of 3 and 8 are graduated too early from a child safety seat to an adult seatbelt. Seatbelts are designed for adults, not for children under 145 cm.  In a crash, a child seated in a seatbelt may flip over the top of the lap belt or submarine under it suffering grave injuries, especially to the head.

Your child is ready to wear a seatbelt when he is tall enough to sit against the vehicle's seat back with his legs bent at the edge of the seat, the knees and feet hanging down comfortably. The shoulder belt should lie across the centre of his chest, not across the neck or face. The lap belt is low and tight across the top of the thighs, not high across the abdomen.

Correct: 6 year old child secured in booster seat

Incorrect: 6 year old child in adult belt with shoulder strap under his arm

(download the pdf-file)

Never allow your child to sit in a lap only belt. In a collision, his body will stretch forward over the lap belt literally pulling the spine apart. For the same reason, you should never allow a child to put the shoulder belt behind his back or under his arm. You can use shoulder belt height adjusters built into the vehicle to make the shoulder belt fit better. Don't buy after-market or "add-on" belt adjusters. There are no safety standards for these products.

Correct restraint: 6 year old child secured in booster seat

Incorrect restraint: 6 year old child in an adult seatbelt

(download the pdf-file)

Images in this section from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia website.

Airbags

Airbags are supplemental restraints designed to work in combination with seatbelts. While the new generation of airbags provide some safety benefits for adults (provided they are also wearing a seatbelt), they are not a substitute for seatbelts or child restraints. On the contrary, a child who sits unrestrained or improperly restrained next to an airbag is at risk of death or serious injury. In order to be effective, airbags deploy in a fraction of a second with considerable force at speeds of up to 300 kph. Because airbags are designed to cushion taller adult bodies in a head-on collision, a child’s head and chest or a rear-facing infant seat takes the full force of this detonation and hundreds have died in America because of this.

Never seat a child in a safety seat or otherwise next to an airbag unless you have first deactivated the on-off switch. If you must transport children in the front seat and your vehicle does not have an on-off switch, consult the vehicle manufacturer about installing one. Neither is it advisable to place children next to active side air bags unless the manufacturer states that it is safe.

Expectant Mothers

Your body is your unborn child's first and last protection against fatal injury in a crash. Unborn babies die every year because of crash injuries to pregnant mothers who did not wear seatbelts. If you travel without  a seatbelt, when your car stops suddenly your body will keep moving forward until it hits something; the seat in front, dashboard, windscreen or even the road outside. Your seatbelt is designed to stretch with you, distribute the crash forces evenly over your body and slow you down until your body and baby come to rest. The proper way to wear a seatbelt during pregnancy is to:-

• Place the diagonal strap over the centre of the chest with the strap resting over the shoulder, not the neck.
• Place the lap belt flat on the thighs, fitting comfortably beneath the baby, and over the pelvis not across the abdomen
• Wear the belt as tight as possible.
• Do not wear 'lap-only' belts as opposed to shoulder and lap belts as they have been shown to cause serious injury to unborn children in the event of sudden deceleration.

Remember seatbelts are not designed for comfort, they are designed for safety. Wear one every ride and sit in the back of the vehicle if you can. When driving, push the seat well back from the steering wheel and reduce your driving in the last 3 months of pregnancy.

Use a child safety seat appropriate to your child’s weight on every ride starting with the first ride home from the hospital. Experts advise parents to be to buy the seat well in advance of the birth to be sure it fits the car. In some countries, hospitals require cars to have a properly installed infant car seat before mothers are allowed home with their babies. Doesn't your baby deserve as much thought and care?

Special needs

Premature babies
If your child was born prematurely, is very small or has special needs because of medical conditions, you will need to be extra careful when transporting her.  Instead of a standard child safety seat, she may need to travel in a car bed which allows her to lie down while travelling. It is recommended that medical staff evaluate all infants born earlier than 37 weeks before their first trip home in case they are not ready to ride in an upright position in a standard car seat. If that is the case, you will need to buy or borrow a special car bed. Some very small babies may also need to use a car bed.

Children with special needs
All children deserve to be transported as safely as possible. Certain health problems may prevent some children from using many of the standard child safety seats found in retail stores. Children with breathing problems, casts or other health care needs may need to use special child safety seats, car beds or vests. Consult your pediatrician about your child's transportation needs and keep up to date with new developments in car safety seats. The Web sites listed below can help you choose a car seat to help keep your child with special needs safe in a vehicle.

• American Academy of Pediatrics' Guide to Car seats for Children with Special Needs
• American Academy of Pediatrics: Choosing Car Seats for Children with Special Needs Product Information
• Riley Hospital for Children: Special Needs Transportation

Air Travel
It is recommended that all passengers fly buckled up at all times to protect against unexpected turbulence. This includes babies and children being buckled up in child safety seats. Check the links below for information on how to keep your children safe while travelling in an airplane.

• Safe Ride News
• Flying and Child Safety Seats

Buying a safer car

Demand better for your family
If you are in doubt that this is one of the most important decisions you'll ever make, watch our film clips now.

Safety is one of the most important considerations when buying a car but in Oman respondents to the 2005 behavioural survey ranked it a distant 6th in importance after price, performance, fuel economy, image and spare parts availability. Safety is accorded a slightly higher ranking (4th) when buying a car for the family. This improvement is largely illusory as both general awareness and availability of features which enhance child passenger safety is low among consumers and most car retailers in Oman.

In contrast, the twin pressures of public alarm and government regulation in countries such as Australia, USA and in Europe have driven car manufacturers to design and innovate in the field of vehicle safety to an unprecedented degree in the recent years. Certain child passenger safety features such as LATCH have been compulsory in the US and Australia since 2002.  These developments, in combination with concerted, multi-sectoral public awareness campaigns have achieved a dramatic reduction in the toll of child death and injury in these countries. Unfortunately in Oman, the absence of both consumer demand and government regulation, allows mass-market car retailers to supply vehicles which do not meet these safety standards.

Create a market for safety
As a consumer you have the power to create change. Next time you buy a car, make your voice heard. Forget raffle tickets or gift hampers. The best gift you can get with a new car is a child safety seat for every child you carry.

Shop around, even outside your price range to understand what safety features are available/standard in some models. Look for a car which can safely accommodate every member of your family and then ask your chosen car retailer what he is doing to provide:

• Built-in child safety seats (designed for children over one year, these drop down out of the back seat and can be pushed back to accommodate adult passengers).
• LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) system which makes installing a child safety seat without a seatbelt easier (also called ISOFIX and Uniform Attachments)
• A lap and shoulder belt in the back centre seat (not lap belt alone);
• Adjustable upper belts in the back seats (this lets you safely adjust the upper belt to fit the size of the occupant);
• An On/Off switch with warning light for frontal airbags;
• Seatbelt reminder for drivers (always set a good example by buckling up)

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