For children ages 9 and older, the safety focus shifts to the proper and consistent use of seat belts and teaching them how to be safe passengers.
As children get older, especially around age 12, they are more likely to ride in cars with drivers other than their parents, sometimes with teens at the wheel. This puts them at greater risk of being involved in a crash.
Follow these guidelines to help your older kids learn to be safe passengers, and eventually, safe drivers:
Seat-belt use for 9- to 12-year-olds
By the time your child reaches this age, she will probably be ready to ride secured with only a seat belt. There are new considerations to think and learn about as she moves from a booster seat to an adult belt system.
Remember, even though she may be big enough to fit into a seat belt, The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommend that children ride in the back seat until age 13.
What happens during a crash?
In a head-on crash, your vehicle's front-end crushes, absorbing crash energy. Properly restrained children come to a more gradual stop along with the vehicle. However, if your child is either loosely restrained or not restrained at all, she will continue to move forward at the same speed — until hitting the car's interior. Kids who are properly using seat belts will come to a more gradual stop along with the vehicle and are less likely to be injured. That's why your older child should be restrained on every trip.
Appropriate use of belt-positioning booster seat
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Is your child ready for an adult seat belt?
Your child should stay in a booster seat until an adult seat belt fits properly, usually when she is about 4'9" tall.
It's very important that the seat belt fits correctly. The American Academy of Pediatrics offers these suggestions to check if your child is ready for a seat belt alone. Here's how you can tell:
- Your child is tall enough to sit against the vehicle's seat back with her legs bent at the edge of the seat, the knees and feet hanging down.
- Your child's knees bend comfortably at the edge of the auto seat.
- The shoulder belt lies across your child'schest, not at the neck or face. The lap belt is low and snug across the thighs, not across the belly.
All kids should ride ride in the back seat until age 13.
Shoulder belt crosses between your child's neck and shoulder
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Seat belt fitting tips
When your child is able use a seat belt, keep these tips in mind to make sure that the belt system provides the best protection.
- The shoulder belt should cross your child between the neck and shoulder.
- You should never put the shoulder belt behind her back or under her arm. You can use shoulder belt height adjusters built into the vehicle to make the shoulder belt fit better. Don't buy after-market or "add-on" belt adjusters. There are no safety standards for these products.
- The lap belt should rest snugly and comfortably below the hipbones.
- Some cars have only lap belts in the rear seats. If your vehicle doesn't have shoulder belts in the back seat, consider having your dealer or auto repair shop install (retrofit) them. Learn more about retrofitting your vehicle.
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- Be a consistent role model. Buckle up on every trip, every time, and make sure that your kids do too!
- Safety is non negotiable. If your child refuses to buckle up, don't start the trip until she puts on her seat belt. If she unbuckles while you're driving, find a safe place to pull over until she buckles up again.
- Since half of all crashes happen 5 to 10 minutes from home, you need to use seat belts all the time, no matter the length of the trip.
Children age 13 and older: seat belts and new drivers
Keeping your teen safe in the car
Studies show that nearly half of all teenagers don't buckle up, even when an adult is in the car.
Teens that are not properly restrained can be seriously injured in crashes. Such injuries are tragic and preventable.
In a head-on crash, the vehicle's front end crushes, absorbing crash energy. Those who are properly restrained come to a more gradual stop along with the vehicle. However, any one who is either loosely restrained or not restrained at all will continue to move forward at the same speed—until hitting the car's interior. If your are properly belted in, you will come to a more gradual stop along with the vehicle and are less likely to be injured.
Seat belts and young drivers
If your teen is age 13 or older, she should use a seat belt on every trip, every time. Unfortunately, a 2002 study of seat belt use by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found nearly half of all teenagers don't buckle up, even when an adult is in the vehicle. Consequently, in 2001, two-thirds of the teens killed in crashes were not wearing seat belts, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA).
Teens are more likely to have crashes due to lack of driving experience and distractions, including peer passengers and cell phone use. Your teenager's chance of being involved in a crash is four times that of an older driver.
Here are some things you can do to help your teen learn safe driving habits:
Don't start the car unless your teen buckles up
If she unbuckles while you are driving, find a safe place to pull over until she puts the belt back on.Require seat belts for every ride, every time
Let your teen and her friends know that wearing seat belts is non negotiable, whether you or your teen is driving. And emphasize that this is the rule whether you or your teen is driving.Safety belt laws do make a difference
Kids are more likely to buckle up when their state has a primary safety belt law. This kind of law allows law enforcement officers to stop a vehicle and issue a ticket when simply observing an unbelted driver or passenger. Let your child know about state laws that require the use of seat belts.Eliminate unnecessary distractions
Being a good role model means more than just buckling up. Model other safe driving behaviors by keeping distractions to a minimum.In the past 5 years, an estimated 6 to 8.3 million drivers involved in crashes attribute the crash to being distracted. Among the distractions:
- Looking for something inside or outside the car.
- Dealing with technology, i.e., radios, CDs.
- Personal thoughts
- Cell phones
Don't negotiate and be consistent
Safety is a non negotiable issue. Use seat belts for every trip. If your teen refuses to buckle up, don't start the car until she is belted in.
How to wear and adjust a seat belt
- The shoulder belt should cross your teen between the neck and arm, or cross the center of the shoulder.
- Never let your child ride with the shoulder belt behind her arm or back. This could lead to serious injuries in the event of a crash.
- Shoulder belt height adjusters built into the vehicle may improve the belt's fit.
- The lap belt should rest comfortably and snugly below the hipbones touching the top of the thighs.
- Some vehicles have only lap belts in the rear seats. If your vehicle doesn't have shoulder belts in the back seat, consider having your dealer or auto repair shop install (retrofit) them. Learn more about retrofitting your vehicle.
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Airbags
Front airbags protect passengers during frontal crashes and are designed to work together with seat belts. When your child is old enough and tall enough to sit in the front seat and use an adult seat belt, the combination of a seat belt and airbag will help protect her in a crash.
Let your teen know she should follow these safety rules when is riding in the front passenger seat:
- Always buckle up. During a crash, the airbag is only a supplement to the seat belt. If the airbag inflates and she is not safely restrained by a seat belt, the airbag can actually cause injury.
- Move the seat as far back as possible away from the dashboard
- Avoid leaning forward to change the radio dial or insert CDs
- Sit upright against the seatback and keep the seat belt snug
Learn more about airbags
Teen Driver Safety
Motor vehicle crashes remain the number one cause of death among teens in the United States. Teen drivers (ages 16 to 19) die at four times the rate of adult drivers (ages 25 to 69). For the latest information on how to keep your teens safe on the road, visit the Keeping Young Drivers Safe website created by the young driver research team at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.