BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – It’s Child Passenger Safety Week – but just how safe are your kids in the car?
When she’s not working with patients, UVM Medical Center’s Dr. Rebecca Bell is outspoken about kids’ safety on topics like vaccines, gun security, and proper car seat use.
So it hits hard when a child comes to the hospital with preventable injuries from a car crash.
“We take care of children and adolescents who are really crudely injured, and some die from car accidents in Vermont. And so this is something I feel really strongly about, pediatricians feel really strongly about,” said Bell.
Car crashes are one of the top causes of death for kids in the United States.
The right car seat specific to your child’s development can be the difference between life and death.
“Kids have different anatomy than adults, and so in order to move kids around in a car safely, they have to be in a seat that’s special for them and special for their anatomy,” said Bell.
Many parents use car seats for their children incorrectly. According to the national digital car seat check form database, 74% of inspected car seats were used or installed improperly in 2023.
But state injury prevention program manager Stephanie Busch says that glaring statistic isn’t from a lack of trying.
“It’s not that parents don’t care about their children, or that they’re doing it intentionally. Car seats are extremely complicated,” said Busch.
With hundreds of car seats on the market, Busch says it can be hard to choose the right one and follow instructions to a tee.
She sees it play out at the dozens of car seat fitting stations across Vermont, where you can get your car seat inspected by a professional.
“About half of them, when people come into our car seat fitting stations have some kind of misuse, and it can go from slightly loose straps all the way to people not even being in car seats,” said Busch.
In addition to fitting stations, Busch says Vermont also offers free or affordable car seats, seat installations for new parents, and seat check events like one happening in Colchester on Saturday.
Dr. Bell says she hopes resources like these help parents install properly and graduate kids to new car seats at the right pace.
“We’re asking parents to slow down, and check before you change. Hold on until they’re fully ready,” said Bell.
To check your child’s car seat, experts recommend starting with a closer look at the rules posted on the side of most seats.