AAA Urges Parents to Keep Their Young Children in Rear-Facing Child Safety Seats Longer

AAA supports recommendation shown to reduce serious injury anddeath among infants and toddlers

WASHINGTON Sept. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AAA now advisesparents of infants and young toddlers to secure their children inrear-facing child safety seats for as long as possible, maxing outthe upper weight or height limits of the car seat. Researchersindicate that toddlers are 75 percent less likely to die or beseriously injured in a crash when they ride in a rear-facing carseat up to their second birthday. National Child Passenger SafetyWeek is September 19-25 and AAA has updated its safetyrecommendations as part of its Seated, Safe and Secure initiative.

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"AAA's safety advice to parents is rooted in available scientificevidence, and the latest research clearly shows that children shouldride rear-facing as long as possible," said AAA Vice President ofPublic Affairs Kathleen Marvaso. "We have a critical opportunity tosave young lives by empowering parents to follow these newguidelines."

AAA recommends the following child passenger safety bestpractices:

Always read the car seat manufacturer's instructions and vehicleowner's manual.

Keep children rear-facing as long as possible - into their secondyear of life until they reach the upper weight or height limit oftheir rear-facing convertible seat. This will usually be around 30-35 pounds.

Once children outgrow the upper weight or height limit of theirrear-facing convertible seats, they can ride in a forward-facingchild safety seat.

Children should use a forward-facing child safety seat until theyreach the maximum weight (usually 40-65 lbs.) or height for theharness.

Children should ride in a booster seat until age 8 or olderunless they are 4'9" tall.

Move children to adult lap/shoulder belts when they are at least4' 9" tall (which usually happens between ages 8 and 12) and vehiclesafety belts fit properly.

For all children under age 13, the back seat is the safest place.

With three out of four child safety seats not properly installed,consulting an expert can be critical to ensure that children aresecured in the safest manner possible. Experts are available to helpparents with their car seat installation by visiting your local AAAclub, www.seatcheck.org or calling 866-SEATCHECK (866-732-8243). Formore additional information on AAA's child passenger safetyresources for parents and caregivers, visit AAA.com/SafeSeats4Kids.

As North America's largest motoring and leisure travelorganization, AAA provides nearly 52 million members with travel,insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since itsfounding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has beena leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers.AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at AAA.com.

AAA news releases, high resolution images, broadcast-qualityvideo, fact sheets and podcasts are available on the AAA NewsRoom atAAA.com/news.

Stay connected with AAA on the web via:

Twitter.com/AAAnews

Twitter.com/AAASafety

Twitter.com/AAAauto

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MySpace.com/AAAeveryday

Facebook.com/AAAFanPage

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Troy Green

https://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=68903

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SOURCE AAA