Defensive Driving Tips and Techniques

Car rides need not be a frightening experience for children. The child safety LATCH system reduces the risks of injury caused by car accidents. This system has been found out to eradicate about 50% of the improper installation associated with child safety car seats.

Tip! One of the most important defensive driving tips to learn - childrens seat belts save lives. Make sure your children are properly secured.

It is ironic to know that while child safety car seats are aimed at keeping the child safe while riding in a vehicle, a good 80% of them are installed incorrectly. This totally defeats the purpose of this safety equipment. One of the main reasons for this is the incompatibility of some vehicles to the child safety seats. This difficulty of setting up the child safety car seat has paved the way for the more effective child safety LATCH system. The Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system is a much easier way of installing the child safety seats in the vehicle because it eliminates the use of the vehicle’s seat belt system. The rise in the properly installed child safety car seats will lessen the number of car accident related injuries and deaths.

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Choosing the safest car seat for your child will be one of the most important decisions you’ll make during your lifetime. Ease of use, durability and car seat crash test ratings should all factor into your decision making process.

Infant car seats, toddler car seats, convertible car seats and child booster seats are manufactured by over twenty companies. The most popular of these companies are Britax, Peg Perego, Graco, Evenflo, BabyTrend, Safety 1st, Chicco, Compass and Cosco.

Child car seat prices range from $50 to over $300 depending on the manufacturer and feature set. Keep in mind that expensive doesn’t always mean better. Some of the cheaper seats perform just as well as the top models.

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There is no doubt that seat belts are the most significant safety device ever introduced. Research shows that properly fastened lap/shoulder seatbelts reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passengers by 45 percent. and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent. For light truck occupants, seatbelts reduce the risk of fatal injury by 60 percent and moderate-to-critical injury by 65 percent. (NHTSA, 2005)

From 1975 through 2004, it is estimated that safety belts saved 195,382 lives, including 15,434 lives saved in 2004. If all passenger vehicle occupants over age 4 had worn seat belts, 21,273 lives (an additional 5,839) could have been saved in 2004 alone. (NHTSA, 2005)

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Despite statistics to support the the case for compulsory seat belts, there is still plenty of controversy surrounding the claim that mandatory seat belt laws save lives. Many of us have been around long enough to remember when seat belts were not even installed in vehicles. In the rare event that seat belts were installed, they were often regarded as a nuisance and pushed aside. Drivers in their fifties and sixties cannot recall wearing seat belts as a child – back then, adults usually didn’t wear seat belts and neither did children.

There is plenty of recognized research to show that many lives could have been saved had the occupants in motor vehicle accidents been wearing seat belts. People turn into deadly projectiles during a high speed vehicle impact, smashing into windscreens, steering wheels, other occupants and being hurtled outside the car. Even a minor accident can kill someone if they are not wearing a seat belt. One blow to a vulnerable part of the head is all it takes.

As an Australian resident, I have lived for many years with a seat belt law that helps protect and save lives. I never get into a vehicle without wearing a seat belt and will not allow passengers into my vehicle without wearing one. I also remind drivers to wear their seat belts when I am their passenger. Why? Because “buckling-up” a seat belt saves lives – and it only takes a few seconds prior to driving off.

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Being a competent, defensive driver is not just restricted to learning technical driving skills and tactics. One of the simplest and most effective defensive driving techniques to learn is to ALWAYS wear a seat belt. It is a proven fact that seat belts save lives, and drivers should arm themselves well with all the correct seat belt safety facts.The following myths about seat belts are often relied on, but are completely untrue:

Seat Belt Safety Fact or Myth #1

• It’s only a short trip so I won’t need to wear a seat belt.
  Untrue. The majority of road accidents occur within 10 km of home, so it’s buckling up on a short trip is very important.

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