Pregnancy and Seat Belts
During pregnancy, the position of your seat belt is more important than ever. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), lap belts, as well as the lap portion of a lap-shoulder belt combination, should be placed low across the hips and over the upper thighs. They must lie snugly over the pelvis, one of the stronger bones of the body. Never place the belt over the abdomen. Adjust the shoulder belt for a snug fit. If it cuts across your neck, reposition your car seat for a better fit.
Taking these simple precautions may feel a little uncomfortable or unusual at first, but you should be able to get used to them quickly.
Child Restraint Safety
Many states have laws requiring the use of seat belts and child safety seats. Here are some statistics from NHTSA regarding the importance of using proper child restraints whenever you travel:
- Automobile crashes are the leading cause of death for children aged 4 to 14
- Every day in the United States, an average of 5 children age 14 and younger were killed and 640 injured every day in motor vehicle crashes
during 2005 - Proper lap and shoulder safety belt use reduces the risk of fatal injury to front seat occupants of passenger cars (ages 5 years and older) by 45%. Fatal injury risk is reduced by 60% for front-seat occupants of light trucks
- Proper child safety seat use reduces fatality risk for infants (less than 1 year old) by 71% and toddlers (1 to 4 years old) by 54% in passenger cars. Reductions for infants and toddlers in light trucks are 58% and 59%, respectively
Air Bags
According to the NHTSA, physicians do not recommend turning off air bags for pregnant passengers or drivers. There is only a serious risk if you're very close to the air bag cover (within 2 to 3 inches) when the air bag deploys. In 1998, the Transportation Equity Act was passed to allow repair shops and dealers to install air bag "on-off" switches under special circumstances. NHTSA identified these situations as follows:
- Drivers and passengers who have been advised by physicians that an air bag poses a special risk to them.
- Drivers and passengers who can't position themselves to properly operate the vehicle with the center of their breastbone at least 10 inches back from the center of the driver air bag cover.
- Those who must travel with infants or children under 12 years of age in the front seat because the vehicle has no rear seat, the rear seat is too small to accommodate a rear-facing child restraint, more children must be transported than can be accommodated by the rear seat, or because it is necessary to constantly monitor the child's medical condition.
Infants should never ride in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger-side air bag. If children between 1 and 12 years old must sit in the front seat, ensure they use seat belts and/or child restraints appropriate for their size or weight. Also, move their seat as far back as possible.
Since children can put themselves in danger by leaning forward or slipping out of their shoulder belts, you may wish to get a switch to turn off the air bag. Keep in mind, dealers and repair shops cannot perform this work without written authorization from NHTSA.
You can visit www.nhtsa.org for more information.
