ALMOST THREE OUT OF FIVE PARENTS ENDANGERS THEIR CHILDREN WHEN TRAVELING BY CAR

Parents always look for the best for our children, and none would risk their lives consciously. However, ignorance or false beliefs sometimes lead us to commit recklessness that could be very expensive, and that directly affect those we love most.

This has been shown in a survey conducted by the insurance comparator, Acierto, which shows that Almost three out of five parents put their children's lives at risk when traveling by road. We tell you what we do wrong in the car and how we should fix it.

Travel with your coat on

More than half of the parents surveyed ride your children in the car with your coat on, increasing up to 80 percent the chances of the child getting fired from the vehicle in a sudden braking or collision.

And is that traveling with a warm item generates a false volume in the child's chest, causing the so-called "underwater effect" in the event of a crash, which is a sliding forward, outside the seat belt fastener.

This effect is exacerbated if the outerwear is made of waterproof and slippery fabric, or if the harnesses of the chair or seat belt are not properly adjusted.

In Babies and more Why it is very dangerous to take children in the car seat with the coat on

Many of the parents who fall for this mistake do so because they fear that their children go cold, without really being aware of the danger of this practice. In these cases, we can carry out the following measures:

Fit the child in the chair with the coat on but without starting the car, just with the engine and heating on, leaving a few minutes until the cabin acclimatizes. When this is the case, we will remove the coat from the child, we will sit him again in his properly tied chair, and now yes, we will set course for our destiny!
Remove the coat from the child before riding in his seat, and once it is correctly tied we will throw it over, as a blanket. Another option would also be to store a blanket inside the car, only for this purpose.

For other parents, putting on and taking off their coat means a "waste of time." And is that sometimes the rush of day to day, and always go with the adjusted time they make us overlook these vital details.

However, the National Child Safety Association has calculated that the time it takes to remove a child's coat before getting into the car and putting it back on later, does not exceed 30 seconds. An excellently spent time when you can make the difference between traveling safely or traveling in danger.

Carry children in non-approved chairs

Another reason that leads parents to put your children's lives at risk when traveling by car, it is not to do so in a child restraint system (SRI) approved and appropriate to the child's weight and size.

In Babies and more, please never take your child in the car without an adequate child restraint system

According to the Success Survey, plus one million parents say they don't always take their children in the corresponding approved seat. Among them, 27 percent admit never to do it, and 73 percent confess that "sometimes it happens to them."

In addition, the study reveals that ten percent of respondents believe that the chair does not adequately protect their children, although experts insist that a child restraint system appropriate to the child's weight and height, can reduce the risk of injury by up to 75 percent In case of an accident.

And although it should not be the reason that moves us to take our children in an SRI, it should be remembered that the General Circulation Regulation sets fines of up to 200 euros, loss of three license points and immobilization of the vehicle for not carrying children in their chair.

From birth, until they reach 135 cm in height (although the DGT recommends raising it to 150 cm), children have to travel in a SRI approved and appropriate to their weight and size, regardless of the duration or distance of our journey .

In Babies and more Do you think your child is so old that he no longer needs an SRI ?: the dangers of traveling alone with a seat belt

Likewise, we must ensure that the chair is properly anchored to the car seat, and that the harnesses that hold the child's body are well placed and tensioned. In case of using a group II / III chair, we must pay attention to the correct guidance of the seat belt, and the placement of the lower band.

But ... what is an "approved chair"?

Approved products are those that meet certain minimum quality and safety standards, specified in a regulation that regulates them. With regard to car safety chairs, there are two regulations in force: ECE R44 / 04 and R129 or i-Size (effective since 2013).

Either of the two regulations is suitable, although remember that the i-Size will end up replacing the ECE R44 / 04, so you should be informed of the changes that this will entail.

In Babies and more ECE R129 or i-Size regulations for car seats, what does the new phase take into force for us? Every child restraint must have a label or inscription with the approval data of the chair. These are the distinctive labels, depending on the regulations under which they have been approved:

Approval under the i-Size regulation

Approval under regulation R44 / 04

When choosing a car seat, keep in mind that R129 or i-Size regulations divide SRIs by weight and height intervals, while ECE R44 regulations do so in groups.

But it is not enough to choose an approved chair under either of the two regulations so that the child travels safely, remember that there are other safety measures coupled that we must take into account:

The child's head should never go above the back of the chair. When this happens, it will have to be renewed.
The chair must adapt perfectly to the child's weight and size, as well as to the characteristics of our vehicle. In this sense, it is recommended visit a specialized store with trained vendors in the matter that can advise us correctly.
The SRI must be well anchored to the car, using in some cases the isofix system combined with a third anchoring point, and in others the vehicle seat belt.
Do not buy second-hand chairs, and renew those we have in case you have been involved in a traffic accident. Also, remember that the chairs also age, and after six years of age the materials can begin to deteriorate.
And last but not least, we insist once again on the importance of using countermarked chairs as long as possible, because according to experts It is the safest way for children to travel.

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