MIDLOTHIAN, Va. — Much like the children who sit down in them, McRae Brittingham says each version of the infant protection seat is a touch bit distinct. Brittingham, a nation-licensed baby passenger protection technician, is hopeful Virginia dad and mom analyze the proper way to put in vehicle seats in advance of an alternate in Virginia regulation requiring rear-facing protection seats until an infant reaches a certain age.
“A $500 seat received’t shield your toddler if it’s now not set up nicely,” Brittingham stated. “The biggest issue about vehicle seat protection: read your vehicle manual, examine your vehicle seat guide, after which parent out how they paintings collectively.” Virginia’s new child seat regulation become handed in 2018 however takes effect July 1, 2019. State officers wanted to give parents and households time to modify to the change.
The policy “prohibits infant restraint gadgets from being forward-going through until, as a minimum, the child reaches years of age or till the child reaches the minimum weight restrict for a forward-dealing with infant restraint tool.” Doctors can also determine if it’s far impractical for a kid to sit down in a rear-facing seat because of the child’s peak.
Research by the American Academy of Pediatrics shows youngsters are 75% much less likely to die or get seriously injured in a twist of fate when their seat is rear-going through. “The lower back of the seat cradles their spines. In the forward-facing role, their heads are going to flop forward in a crash, and this is going to cradle them,” Brittingham stated. “We’d instead have damaged legs than a damaged neck.”
A violation of the kid safety seat law is a number one offense, meaning a police officer can pull a driver over and deliver them a price tag without a separate violation. A $50 civil penalty excellent is imposed for failure to have a child in an infant restraint device. Any character observed guilty a second or next time, on special dates, might be fined up to $500, consistent with the Virginia Department of Health.
Brittingham said most parents recognize the difficulty of putting in an automobile seat, and errors are smooth to make. “I don’t recognize if I’ve ever checked a seat that didn’t at the least have something wrong,” she stated. Parents and households can make installation appointments with experts like Brittingham to test their automobile seats and get assistance from an expert. The Virginia Department of Health has a list of places you may visit to get your protection seat checked out.
Free child protection and booster seats are also to be had for human beings of low profits via VDH software. You have to qualify and observe for this system. “How a good deal your infant weighs, how tall they’re, what type of car you have got, what number of different youngsters are in the car, that all plays into what’s the great seat for you. There’s no ‘the pleasant seat,'” Brittingham said.
