SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah —
More than 65% of car seats in Utah are installed or used incorrectly, meaning the chances of those car seats protecting a child in a crash are likely not high.
Child Passenger Safety Week, observed the week of Sept. 20, is a time when instructors share the most dangerous car seat mistakes parents make.
Dr. Hilary Hewes, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Primary Children's Hospital at the University of Utah, said the difference between a properly secured child and one who is not can be life or death.
"About 2 years ago we had a family of 7 traveling in a van. Six of the people were in car seats or were wearing seatbelts, and one wasn't. The one child who was not in a car seat or a seatbelt was ejected from the vehicle and died. The other family members had just scratches and bruises. I mean, it makes such a difference: an appropriately placed car seat and seat belt," Hewes said.
One of the most common mistakes involves the chest clip and harness fit. Sarah Knudsen, a child passenger safety technician at Primary Children's Hospital at the University of Utah, said many parents leave the harness too loose.
"A lot of people have the chest clip too loose, so for the fit of the harness, you want it to be enough to where you cannot pinch any slack at the shoulders, um, and for the chest clip height you want it to be right at their armpit level, um, the reason for that is just you want the chest clip to be right on their sternum instead of close to their belly where all of their internal organs are," Knudsen said.
Experts also warn about the dangers of a seat belt positioned too high on a child's stomach.
"We're going to demonstrate what happens to the insides if your belt is too high on that kiddo's stomach. So when you're in a crash, and that seat belt tightens, the insides squish out," an instructor said.
Resources are available year-round — not just during Child Passenger Safety Week — for parents who are unsure whether their car seat is installed correctly. Car seat inspection sites are available throughout Utah.
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