A caregiver recently emailed SRN the following question:
Now that our kiddo can walk, I am thinking about buying one of those seat mats for our car to protect the upholstery from muddy shoes. I’ve seen friends use them, but are they safe?
News
CPSTs: Gear Up to Explain Why Coats and CRs Don’t Mix
Adapted from a SRN article published in Fall 2020
As CPSTs know, the transition to winter wear presents an annual challenge to properly using CR harnesses.
Read More from “CPSTs: Gear Up to Explain Why Coats and CRs Don’t Mix”Free Resources to Promote Maternal and Fetal Safety
At the Kidz in Motion conference, SRN was happy to learn about the Hudson Center for Prenatal Vehicle Safety (HCPVS), a nonprofit program of the UCHealth healthcare system based in Fort Collins, Colorado. HCPVS offers free materials to protect pregnant drivers, pregnant passengers, and unborn babies. Gregory Colton, the organization’s founder, staffed an exhibit booth and was also a presenter for a workshop titled “Seat Belt Use During Pregnancy: Improving Community Education.”
Read More from “Free Resources to Promote Maternal and Fetal Safety”Study Examines NHTSA’s CR Ease-of-Use Ratings
Besides regulating vehicles and CRs through Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, NHTSA also influences roadway safety through its various ratings programs, which can be found here.
Read More from “Study Examines NHTSA’s CR Ease-of-Use Ratings”Editorial: Impaired Driving Is a CPS Issue
As most people know, impaired drivers (drunk or high) are a menace on our roadways. What is less recognized, however, is that most (57%) of the children who die in impaired-driver crashes are passengers of the impaired driver. Unsurprisingly, studies show that children riding with an impaired driver are less likely to be properly restrained, and restraint use decreases with increasing child age and driver blood alcohol content. And, since the driver survives 71% of these crashes, many children who perish would likely survive if properly restrained.
Read More from “Editorial: Impaired Driving Is a CPS Issue”Checking for Recalls? Don’t Forget the Vehicle
In recent years, recalls directly related to CPS have been more common among vehicles than CRs. And, since all recalls are safety-related, any vehicle recall (including the vastly greater number that are not specifically about CPS) can indirectly harm child passengers. So, the fact that NHTSA says over 50 million vehicles on the road have one or more open recalls is a serious safety concern.
Read More from “Checking for Recalls? Don’t Forget the Vehicle”Editorial: RV Travel Savings Unlikely to Pencil Out When Safety Is Added to the Equation
CPSTs should be prepared for a potential rise in RV interest among families. In a study published earlier this year, researchers compared the cost of visiting nine popular U.S. tourist destinations over three vacation durations. For every scenario, the researchers concluded that traveling by RV was significantly less expensive than trips involving other modes of transportation (planes, cars) or lodging (hotels, rental properties).
Read More from “Editorial: RV Travel Savings Unlikely to Pencil Out When Safety Is Added to the Equation”2023-2024 LATCH Manual Update
Ask Katrina: Sometimes, Finding Information for Using CRs in Pickup Trucks Is Half the Battle
In this regular column, SRN shares vehicle-related information from Katrina Rose, SRN collaborator and vehicle liaison for the LATCH Manual. For the March/April 2023 issue, Katrina shared answers to some questions posed by technicians regarding pickup trucks.
Because pickup trucks are very popular while at the same time often challenging for CR use, SRN focuses special attention on understanding them so we can provide helpful guidance in our publications, such as the LATCH Manual.
Read More from “Ask Katrina: Sometimes, Finding Information for Using CRs in Pickup Trucks Is Half the Battle”When and How to Break a Car Window
In an emergency, know these right (and wrong) ways to purposely shatter automotive glass
Most CPSTs have noticed that TV shows rarely depict CPS best practices. An episode from ABC’s Modern Family provides a good example when a dad frantically runs toward his vehicle intending to break a window with a garbage can to free his infant daughter locked inside.
Read More from “When and How to Break a Car Window”