Researchers have released a video that helps highlight the severity of what can happen to an unrestrained child in a motor vehicle crash, report news sources.
The eight-second video was made by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute in an effort to demonstrate the importance of using child safety seats. The researchers used two 33-pound crash test dummies to simulate 3-year-old children riding in the back seat of a vehicle during a crash. One dummy was restrained in a forward facing safety seat; the other was left unrestrained. The simulated crash replicated the conditions of moderate to severe crash at roughly 30 mph.
In the dummy representing the unrestrained was flung into the back of the front passenger seat then tossed back into the rear seat. Researchers say that in a real-life situation, the child would have either been killed or suffered serious injuries. Had the restrained dummy been a real child, it probably would have walked away from the crash with just minor injuries like scrapes and bruises.
Experts recommend that children be restrained in safety seats until they are either 8-years-old or 4 feet, 9 inches tall.
As a Charleston car accident attorney, child safety is something that I am very conscious of; I encourage parents and caregivers to get trained in the best ways to use a child safety seat. Because of my experience as a Charleston auto accident lawyer, I am very aware of the split-second difference between everything seeming fine and a terrible vehicle crash. I urge motorists to always practice safe driving habits.