Five Tips to Keep Your Baby Safe in the Car

Baby on Board! 

If you’ve seen the yellow rhombuses with black letters that read “BABY ON BOARD,” you may have imagined some parents sticking it on the bumper, proudly proclaiming, “Now people will stop intentionally running their car into ours!” A lot of people think the stickers are useless but, contrary to popular theories, the baby on board stickers aren’t for narcissistic parents to show off the fact that they have a child in the car, nor are they placed on the car as a reminder that other drivers need to be more careful. The stickers are to notify emergency personnel that there may be an infant in the car. Sometimes, when a car crash occurs, the driver may be unconscious, deceased, or otherwise unable to communicate that there is a child in the car. The “baby on board” stickers are to notify the first responders of the presence of a child when the driver is unable to. If you are a parent, and you have a baby, you may want to consider investing in one of these stickers. If you have a child, who has special needs and/or struggles with communication, you may also want to invest in a sticker for the outside of your car.  

“But You Can’t Eat a Car Seat!” 

Just because you can’t eat a car seat doesn’t mean that the car seat doesn’t have an expiration date. If you’re experiencing sticker shock in the car seat aisle, you’re definitely not alone. While buying a used car seat may be an economic alternative, there are certain safety precautions you ought to take. When you’re buying a car seat second-hand, make sure that it’s not expired. The car seat should have a sticker with the expiration date on it or have the expiration date embossed in the base. If there’s no expiration date on the car seat, you may need to consult the manual. While expired car seats won’t grow mold or cause food poisoning, they can be outdated in terms of safety. When a car seat is expired, that could indicate that it no longer meets the accepted safety standards. If you get into an accident, you should replace your car seat, even if your baby wasn’t in the car seat at the time of the accident. Car seat replacements are generally recommended even if the crash was only moderate. 

Medical Alert Seatbelt Sleeves 

If you have a baby with a medical condition, you may want to consider getting a medical alert seatbelt sleeve. For example, if your baby is deaf and has cochlear implants, you may want to consider getting a seatbelt sleeve to notify first responders that your child is deaf and has cochlear implants. If your baby is allergic to certain medications, specifically medications that would likely be administered by first responders, it may be a good idea to put that on a medical alert sleeve. Medical alert sleeves may also work for older children who are non-verbal or otherwise unable to communicate crucial medical information. 

Limit Car Seat Time 

Babies aren’t supposed to be in a car seat for more than two hours at a time. While this can pose an issue for parents who are looking at a road trip, there are precautions that can be taken. Every two hours, you may want to stop for a while and take a break. The older your baby is, the more it’s important to incorporate play into your breaks on road trips to keep the peace. Needing to stop for a while every couple of hours can be difficult and it can stretch out the length of your road trip by quite a bit. In that case, it may be in your best interests to divide the drive into multiple days. You don’t want to drive drowsy, especially with a baby on board. So, make sure that you divide the drive time if necessary. 

Do Not Put the Baby on top of the Car 

No parent in their right mind would strap their baby to the top of the car like a Christmas tree–that’s not what we’re talking about here. A lot of people carry the baby out to the car, set the baby on top of the car (typically the baby is already in his or her carrier), then load up the car. While most parents do eventually remember to load up the baby, mistakes do happen. Unfortunately, some parents make the tragic mistake of driving off with the baby on top of their car. If you have your hands full, you can put the inanimate objects on the top of the car and load up the baby first. Do not set your baby on top of the car.  

When You’ve Been Injured 

When you’ve been injured, Moxie Law Group is here for you. Contact us today for a free consultation.