Buckle Up When Bundled Up – Valuable Child Passenger Safety Tips for Winter Months

Fact: Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for all children between ages two and 14.

Fact: Car seats reduce the risk of death significantly – as much as 71% for infants and about 54% for toddlers.

When consulting with a personal injury lawyer they could mention that up to 82% of infant car seats are installed incorrectly, increasing the risk of severe injury or mortality if an accident occurs. Victims of car accidents caused by negligent or reckless drivers should consider meeting with a personal injury lawyer or auto accident attorney to evaluate your case and get expert legal advice.

– According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Proper use of a child safety seat is the best protection you can give your child when traveling by car. When a little one is dressed for the cold winter months, it may be a challenge to properly buckle them in for safety. Allstate Insurance Company is providing timely tips to ensure that parents are correctly buckling up their child when they are bundled up.

“Thick winter coats or snowsuits can change the way a child fits into a car seat,” says Allstate NY spokesperson Krista Conte. “For car seats or booster seats to function properly, the straps need to remain tight against the child’s chest. The filling of a thick coat may compress in an accident, making secure looking straps loose.”

Allstate Insurance Company and Heather Corley (About.com Baby Products Guide) offer an easy way for parents to test their child’s winter coat or infant snowsuit to see if they are too thick to be safe in a car seat.

1. Take the car seat into the house.
2. Put the winter coat or snowsuit on the child.
3. Put the child in the car seat and buckle the harnesses as you normally would before car travel. Adjust the straps to the appropriate fit for your child.
4. Take the child out of the car seat without loosening the straps at all.
5. Take the coat off your child.
6. Put the child back in the car seat and buckle the harnesses again, but do not tighten the straps.

If you can fit more than two fingers under the harness at the child’s shoulder bone, the coat is too thick and is not safe for use with the car seat.

For more information: http://babyproducts.about.com

For More information and a new quote please call Shirley Eizember, Pinckney Insurance Agency, 41 Port Watson St, Cortland New York. 607-756-8505

The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation’s largest publicly held personal lines insurer known for its “You’re In Good Hands With Allstate®” slogan. Now celebrating its 80th anniversary as an insurer, Allstate is reinventing protection and retirement to help nearly 16 million households insure what they have today and better prepare for tomorrow. Consumers access Allstate insurance products (auto, home, life and retirement) and services through Allstate agencies, independent agencies, and Allstate exclusive financial representatives in the U.S. and Canada, as well as via www.allstate.com and 1-800 Allstate®.

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