While Traveling Each year, nearly 1,400 children ages 14 and under are killed in motor vehicle accidents, and an estimated 280,000 are injured.
Car seats are a child s best protection against injury in a motor vehicle accident.
Yet most child safety seats aren t installed properly or are used incorrectly, putting children s lives at risk. Studies show that 80 percent or more of child safety seats are misused, said Cathy Goldschmidt, Childbirth Educator for Porter Memorial Health System and a spokesperson for the Porter County SAFE KIDS Chapter. When used correctly, child safety seats are extremely effective in reducing fatalities in motor vehicle crashes, she said. It s important that families know how to properly use these safety seats in order to reduce their child s risk of injury in a car accident. Never position a child safety seat in front of an air bag.