Every child in a car seat.Every time.No matter what.

Mandy Lee Miller

#CarseatFullstop Campaign Creator & Director

2016

Every child under 1.5m tall (10-12 years old)

needs additional support to be safe in a car

~~~~~

• A seat belt is designed for an

adult male over 1.5m tall

• Its job is to evenly distribute

the crash force over the

strongest parts of the body –

the shoulder, chest and pelvis

• On anybody smaller, it

becomes an additional

danger – sitting across the

vulnerable neck and throat

and the soft belly and

unprotected major organs

It is illegal for you to drive with

a child under the age of 3 who

is not in a car seat

~~~~~

Recent observational research

by the Automobile Association

(AA) found that 93% of South

African children in cars who

needed carseats weren’t in

them

Car passenger deaths are the 4th

leading cause of unnatural

deaths in children in South Africa

(Medical Research Council).

~~~~~

When a car crashes, the body takes

on the weight of the speed you were

moving multiplied by the actual

weight.

In a crash at 60kmph, your 10 kg

baby takes on the weight of 600kg.

~~~~~

They would be thrown about inside

the vehicle, injuring themselves and

others in the vehicle, before being

ejected

An infant seat reduces the

chance of your baby dying

by 71% and a toddler seat

reduces the chance of your

toddler dying by 64%

International research and

practice shows that your child is

5 – 7 times less likely to be killed

or seriously injured in a

rearward-facing facing car seat.

3 Stages of Seats

It is very important that you only

use your seat until the height and

weight limit is reached.

Infant Seat

0 – 13kgs

Toddler Seat

Convertible: 9 – 18kgs

Exclusively rear facing: 9 – 25kgs

Full Back Booster Seat

15kgs – 36kgs

Infant Seat

• High side panels, deep shaped seat

for best protection

• How easy is it to install?

• Are the straps non-twist and easy to

adjust, open and close?

• How easy is it to adjust the headrest

and recline position of the seat?

• Is it light to carry and is the carry

handle easy and comfortable to use?

• Is the cover soft, comfortable,

removable and easy to wash?

• Can it be installed with your car's

seat belt ? Can it use ISOFIX?

• Is your car seat belt long enough to

fit the seat safely? Does your car

have ISOFIX?

Convertible Toddler Seat

• Rear-faces until between 1 and 2

years old (follow the height and

weight guide on the orange

sticker on the seat).

• The seat then forward faces with

harness until approximately

18kgs

• How easy is it to install?

• Are the straps non-twist and

easy to adjust, not too easy to

open?

Convertible Toddler Seat

• Is it easy to adjust the headrest

and strap heights?

• Is the cover soft, comfortable,

removable and easy to wash?

• Can it be installed with your car's

seat belt? Can it use lap belt

alone? Can it use ISOFIX? Does

it use tether belts?

• Does it fit in your car?

Rear-Facing Toddler Seat

• Your little one moves up to this seat

once they outgrow the infant seat

height and weight

• Your child remains rear-facing until

they reach 25kgs and exceed the

height limit for the seat (between 4

and 6 years old)

• Rear-facing is 5 – 7 times safer

than forward facing

• It is very important that you ensure

the seat fits properly in your car

• Follow the installation instructions

in the manual carefully

Rear-facing seats have been

around since the 1960s in

Europe.

~~~~~

They are based on astronauts

seats: rear-facing to evenly

distribute the force of takeoff

and landing across the entire

back and solid head, as

opposed to just the neck.

It is exactly the same in car

seats. Instead of the vulnerable

underdeveloped neck, the back

and bigger head take the force

of impact.

Common Concerns

Where will they put their legs?

Toddler are incredibly flexible. It is

actually more comfortable for them

to rear-face than have their legs

hanging forward.

Won’t their legs be broken in an

accident?

No, there are no recorded cases of

rear-facing leg breaks; they are

however common in forward facing

kids.

What if we are hit from behind?

Your car would move with the

motion of impact, so the force is

dramatically reduced

Watch the movement of the body, legs included at the moment of impact

Booster Seat

The booster seat is designed to better position the adult seat belt

on your child to protect their developing bodies.

The seat should have belt guides to position the diagonal belt

midway between the shoulder and the neck, and the lap belt low over

the upper thighs.

The seat should provide side impact protection for the neck and

head.

You should keep your child in their harnessed toddler seat until they

exceed the height and weight requirements of the seat.

When is it safe for my child to use a seat belt alone?

1. The seat belt should sit midway between shoulder and neck.

2. The lap belt should .sit low across their upper thighs

3. Their back should be flush with the back rest of the car seat, with their bottom firmly where the back rest and seat meet.

4. While your child is sitting flush with the back rest, their knees should only bend past the edge of the seat and their feet should be flat on the floor

5. Your child should be able to sit comfortably in that position, without moving, for as long as the car is moving

Thank You

http://carseatfullstop.org

support@carseatfullstop.org

/carseatfullstop