Car Crashes Number 1 Cause Of Death Among Children Aged 1-13

September is National Child Passenger Safety Awareness month, and Nissan is reminding us all of the importance of choosing the right seat to keep children safe.

The automaker, through its Snug Kids program, which was launched 20 years ago, is taking the opportunity to remind parents that car seats are an important area to invest in, because car crashes are the leading cause of death for children aged 1 to 13. According to the CDC, many of these deaths could have been prevented with the proper use of a child safety seat.

“Don’t install a used seat, an expired seat, or a seat that’s been in a collision, and make sure it was tested according to federal standards,” said Robert Sinclair Jr., senior manager of public affairs at AAA. “It’s also crucial to make sure you’re using a car seat correctly to keep your child safe in a crash. If installed properly, the car seat should not be able to move more than an inch in any direction at the belt path and there should be no slack if you pinch the strap at the child’s shoulder.”

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Through Snug Kids, Nissan owners can peruse a list of car seats that the automaker certifies as excelling at protecting children in its seats. That’s important, because not all car seats fit all vehicles. That’s why Nissan says its engineers spend thousands of hours testing seats for its vehicles.

“Nissan prioritizes passenger safety for all occupants,” said Matthew Gapinski, senior manager, product safety engineering at Nissan. “Our Snug Kids team of certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians works directly with child seat manufacturers to make sure we are checking for a proper fit of their latest seat models in our vehicles.”

Once you’ve picked the seat, though, there are ways of ensuring that it works properly. First, it is recommended that guardians check the fit of their child seat annually to make sure that it fits properly. Knowing when to switch from a child seat to a booster seat is also vital.

Removing coats can also help ensure that a child is firmly held in place and that the belts are taut enough not to be pinchable between two fingers. It’s also important that the seat fits in a vehicle properly, so using a rolled up towel as a shim can be helpful in some cases. Nissan adds that it’s important never to buy a used seat and to always ensure that the seat has not expired. Seats should always be replaced after an accident, too.

For more information, you can check out the Snug Kids website, as well as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website for more info on where to get a car seat inspected.