Mom’s car seat mistake almost costs her daughter’s life
Shelly Martin, the mother of a 6-year-old girl who nearly lost her life after a fatal car crash, has gone public to warn other parents about the dangers of seat belt and car seat mistakes.
She admitted to her own mistake of thinking that her daughter, Samantha, had outgrown her booster seat and that it was okay to take her out of it.
“A lot of people seem to think that when the children don’t fit so easily in the booster, that it’s okay to take them out of the booster. That’s not the case,” Martin said.
Samantha was travelling in the car with her father in Virginia when the car struck a tree. Before the crash she had done what so many children do and had taken moved the top part of the seatbelt behind her back.
According to NBC News she sustained spine, abdominal and head injuries and is lucky to be alive. The details of Samantha’s injuries described by the doctors who treated her were pretty graphic and one of them said that Samantha was essentially “cut in two”. Fortunetly she is now on the road to recovery while a binder has been placed around her belly for support while she heals at home.
“It’s awful, I mean it’s torture. You know what I mean? Your mind kind of thinks of all sorts of things. They told me she had facial and head injuries and stomach lacerations and that she was still in surgery and that’s all they would tell me for a couple of hours,” Shelly told local news, WWBT News 12 in Richmond.
National statistics show that 85% of South African children travel unrestrained in cars. Child passenger deaths are the 4th leading cause of unnatural deaths in our country according to the Medical Research Council, not to mention the children that suffer injury or disability on a daily basis.
Also read: We need to stop killing our children!
David Roache of dotsure.co.za says that this contributes to the unacceptably high mortality and injury rate for children on our roads. He says, “We believe that this figure could be reduced by around half if the correct child safety seat is always used.”
Car safety seats can reduce the risk of passenger death by a staggering 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers. Even in a minor crash, an unrestrained child would be thrown around inside the car and in extreme cases be flung from the car through one of the windows. An astounding test result showed that at 40km/h the blow to a child’s head is the same as dropping him/her onto concrete from a height of 6 meters. [1]
South African legislation stipulates that everyone in a car should wear a seatbelt. It is the driver’s responsibility to ensure that children are buckled up in a car safety seat or seatbelt.
Online insurer dotsure.co.za (a product of Oakhurst) and child car safety advocates Wheel Well once again joined forces in an effort to drive passenger safety this National Child Passenger Safety Week, 18-24 September 2016, whereby they set up a high-visibility joint operation outside Alberview Primary School in Alberton this morning. Parents were pulled over as they arrived at school, and handed a ‘traffic fine flyer’ containing information about the new legislation. dotsure.co.za and Wheel Well staff made use of the opportunity to further educate motorists and school children about using the correct-sized car seat, and the importance of buckling up. A total of 40 seats were fitted and donated to families who cannot afford car seats.my essay help “Words cannot express our gratitude in showing that you care for the safety of our children and for the generations to come.” – Mrs Vermeulen (Principal of Alberview Primary School)
The dotsure.co.za Car Seat Safety cause is aimed to educate and inform both parents/caregivers and children on the dangers of not buckling up as well as South African legislation. Through their outreach programme in Gauteng, dotsure.co.za have donated 250 car seats at mock roadblocks to unsuspecting parents and reached approximately 11,250 learners through regular educational talks.
“Being in the car-insurance arena, this cause is very close to us. We’ve heard some heart-wrenching stories of avoidable injury and loss of life and we want to help prevent more incidents wherever possible” says David Roache of dotsure.co.za.
The safest way for children to travel in cars is an approved car safety seat or booster seat. A properly fitted child restraint that is appropriate for your child’s height and weight reduces the likelihood of your child being injured or killed in a car crash. Peggie Mars of Wheel Well says, “Just taking a few minutes before you set off on your car journey – no matter how short – to properly strap your child in can mean the difference between life and death or severe and debilitating injury for your child.”
CAR SAFETY TIPS FOR CHILDREN
*With the huge forces involved in a car crash, parents must ensure they purchase car seats that adhere to current and tested regulations and standards. In South Africa, we adhere to European standards and the car seat must feature an orange European Economic Commission stamp of approval sticker.
* Buckle up every time, no matter how short the trip.
* Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in the backseat. The backseat is generally the safest place for a child.
* While airbags can save lives, kids riding in the front seat can be seriously injured or killed when an airbag deploys during a crash.
* Never put a rear-facing child in a front seat with an active frontal airbag.
* Choose the right child safety seat or safety belt for your child’s size and age.
* Install and use your child safety seat or safety belt according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
* Ensure your child safety seat has not been in an accident.
For more information visit: Dotsure.co.za . You can also join many others who pledged to always buckle up on our Facebook page. Alternatively contact Colleen Wentzel, Ambassador of Buzz, on 011 812 8169 for more information, car seat guidelines and tips.
Image via NBC 12