The purpose of car seats is to properly secure babies and children while they are travelling in a car. The New Jersey law dealing with car seats is applicable to those children eight years and younger who weigh less than 80 pounds. Proper safety for children is a priority for parents even when their children are under the supervision of someone else at school or at day care. Accidents involving children can be devastating, especially a car accident where a child is not properly secured in his or her car seat. Improper use of a car seat can lead to child injury or worse.
A recent car accident involving a child in New Jersey has prompted some experts to give advice on proper car seat procedure for young children. A pediatrician at Cooper University says that about one-third of the children who go to the university’s trauma center were not properly buckled or secured in a car seat. Therefore, many of these deaths and injuries are preventable. The pediatrician recommends parents and supervisors check labels on car seats and that kids under the age of 13 sit in the back seat, not the front.
Car seats are an important way to prevent a permanent disabilities or long-lasting injuries. Negligent supervision or use of a car seat might lead to an accident. If someone acts negligently in his or her care of a child and does not comply with car seat regulations, this negligence can create a presumption of liability if the child is subsequently hurt as a result. Such negligence or carelessness could include avoiding proper safety standards with car seats in order to save on time or money.
A child’s safety should be a priority for any parent or adult caring for a child. Injury prevention may be as simple as following New Jersey’s child seat guidelines.
Source: News Works, “Trauma pediatrician highlights importance of car seats,” Elana Gordon, July 4, 2014
