There were four children killed so far this year on Minnesota Highways. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety reports none were properly restrained. Joe Crumley, my partner posted a great article about the need for these seats recently. The Department pointed out some vital safety tips:
The most common child passenger safety mistakes are:
– Turning a child from a rear-facing restraint to a forward-facing restraint too soon.
– Restraint is not secured tight enough — the seat should not shift more than one inch side-to-side or out from the seat.
– Harness on the child is not tight enough — if you can pinch harness material, it’s too loose.
-Retainer clip is up too high or too low — should be at the child’s armpit level.
-The child is in the wrong restraint — children must progress through different restraints as they age and grow; most often parents/caregivers neglect to use booster seats and “rush” children into adult seat belts that don’t properly fit the child. Use a booster seat until the child is 8 years old, unless the child is 4′9″or taller.
From 2004–2008, 41 children under age 7 were killed on state roads. Nearly 60 percent of these children were either unrestrained or incorrectly restrained. Also in that time period, 14 of the 17 children ages four to seven killed in crashes were not properly restrained in a child safety seat or booster seat. These are vital protections at all drivers with children have got to pay attention to.
A founding partner with Bradshaw & Bryant, Mike Bryant has always fought to find justice for his clients—knowing that legal troubles, both personal injury and criminal, can be devastating for a family. Voted a Top 40 Personal Injury "Super Lawyer" multiple years, Mr. Bryant has also been voted one of the Top 100 Minnesota "Super Lawyers" four times.
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