New York Attorney Provides Car Seat Tips to Prevent Accidents

As a parent, you can be the safest driver in the world, but your children are still at risk every time you get behind the wheel. There are too many other drivers doing too many dangerous things. There are drunk drivers and tired drivers. There are drivers who are too busy with their cell phones to pay attention to the road. There are drivers who are engaging in horseplay with passengers and not keeping their focus on the road.

Knowing there is no foolproof way to prevent accidents, the most important thing we can do is make sure that our children are as safe in the car as they can be. That means having a car seat, and making sure the car seat works. The most important factors in car seat safety are:

• Crash ratings; the government determines which car seats are most likely to protect your child
• Appropriateness to your child’s height and weight, including adjusting the straps as necessary
• Proper installation, as many car seats are improperly installed (your local fire department or police department might be willing to check the installation)
• Stay away from used car seats, as a single previous accident is likely to render the car seat unsafe, and determining the crash history of such an item is all but impossible
• Keeping a child rear-facing instead of front-facing until they meet the necessary age, height, and weight requirements

The most important thing to most parents is their children’s safety, and the best guarantee of safety a child can have in the car is a quality car seat that is installed correctly. Don’t ever take this for granted.

If you or someone you love has been in accident, particularly if there were children in the car, even the best car seat in the world might not have been enough. It is very possible you and your child suffered whiplash or other injuries that will require long-term medical care. Please, seek a qualified attorney who can provide you with a step-by-step process for getting the compensation to which you are entitled.