Child Safety Seats Save Lives
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for the age group 2 to 14 years old and the number one way to change this is simple — use a child safety seat. It only takes a few minutes to save your child's life. Please help us protect your children by always putting them in a car seat. Infants should always ride rear-facing until they are at least 1 year of age and weigh at least 20 pounds. Toddlers/Preschoolers should ride in convertible seats. It is best to ride rear-facing as long as possible. Children 1 year of age and at least 20 pounds can ride forward-facing. School-age children shorter than 4'9" should use booster seats. Booster seats are for older children who have outgrown their forward-facing car safety seats. Children should stay in a booster seat until adult belts fit correctly (usually when a child reaches about 4 foot 9 in height and is between 8 and 12 years of age). Without booster seats, children may receive major injuries from the seat belts themselves. Forward- or Rear-facing safety seats. Though we understand that children won't always want to ride in rear-facing seats, we think that after you watch the video below, you'll understand the importance of rear-facing seats. Pay attention to the amount of force subjected to the neck in the forward facing seat. In young children, spinal damage caused by this force is the main cause of death. Then notice that the dummies secured in the rear-facing safety seats barely move. It's obvious which seat will result in more damage to your loved one. We can install your child safety seatWe have a number of certified child seat technicians at Oldham County EMS that can help you install your safety seat and answer any questions you should have. To schedule a fitting, contact the station at (502) 222-7250. Please keep in mind that ambulance runs are our number one priority but we can always set up appointments to suit your schedule. Also, please try to schedule a fitting at least three weeks prior to your anticipated delivery date
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There is nothing more upsetting to EMS personnel than to see kids standing up and playing in the back seat of a moving vehicle. That's because we know that that child could easily die should the care be involved in even a low speed accident.  |
Before installing a child safety seat, always read both the child seat instructions AND the vehicle owner’s manual. A child must be kept rear-facing to a minimum of one year of age AND 20 pounds. When using a rear-facing convertible seat, best practice is to keep the child rear facing until the maximum rear-facing weight limit. When rear-facing, the harness straps should be at or below the child’s shoulders, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When front-facing, the harness straps should be at or above the child’s shoulders, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The harness retainer clip should be at armpit level. No more than one finger should fit between the child’s collar bone and the harness strap. The child safety seat should not move more than 1 inch side to side or back and forth at the belt path once it is secured in the car. Seat belts are designed for people at least 4’9“ tall and 80 pounds. Children between 40 and 80 pounds must ride in a booster seat with a lap-shoulder belt. If your child safety seat has been involved in a crash, it is best to get a new one. Airbags can fatally injure children, especially infants in rear-facing seats. The back seat is always the safest place for children 12 years of age and under. |
