Britney Spears has landed herself in the glare of the spotlight after being photographed driving an SUV with her baby in her lap.
But her actions have also turned attention back to the issue of car seats and how they can save children's lives.
Don Mays, the senior director of product safety for Consumer Reports, visited The Early Show with some important tips and reminders.
"What parents have to remember is the force of an impact during a crash is so severe that an adult doesn't have the strength to be able to restrain a child," Mays told co-anchor René Syler.
"Additionally, most cars now are equipped with air bags. The explosive force of an air bag is so strong that it can kill an infant instantly," he said.
A baby up to 22 pounds should be riding in an infant car seat in a rear-facing position in the back side of a car.
Even when the child graduates to a convertible seat, Mays says it is best to keep the seat in a rear-facing position.
"Ideally, you want to keep the child rear-facing for as long as possible because that's the safest position for children to ride in cars," he told Syler.
Crash tests show that in an accident at 30 miles per hour, a child who is not restrained in the back seat is in deadly danger."The impact forces are so great," Mays said. "An unrestrained child is just not going to stay in place and go flying. We know that child safety seats are highly effective at reducing mortality, fatalities in cars. In fact, infant seats in particular, 71 percent effective in reducing accidental death in cars."
Mays says that children should be switched into a booster seat when they reach about 40 pounds, and points out that most states now have laws that require the use of booster seats. He recommends continuing to use a booster until the child is at a height of 4 feet 9 inches.
Consumer Reports and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issue the following tips for car seat safety:
Premature babies and other very small newborns may require a car bed if there's concern that a car seat may not provide a secure fit or that it may exacerbate breathing problems. Travel should be kept to a minimum during the first months of life for a premature baby.The safest place for a child in a car seat is in your vehicle's center-rear seat, never in front near an air bag. A child should ride in a rear-facing car seat until reaching the maximum weight/height limits or other limits stated by the seat's manufacturer. (Typical weight limits for rear-facing use of convertible seats are 30 pounds.) Never switch the child's seat to a front-facing orientation for a child less than 1 year old and not over 20 pounds. For rear-facing use, recline the seat to achieve an optimum 45-degree angle.Harness straps in a rear-facing car seat should be at, or slightly below, the infant's shoulders. For front-facing toddlers, harness straps should be at or slightly above the toddler's shoulders. If a harness is properly snug, you should not be able to insert more than one of your fingers behind it. Children over 40 pounds should use a booster seat or similarly appropriate restraint until they can sit in a vehicle's rear seat with their knees bent comfortably over the edge, with the vehicle shoulder belt crossing mid-chest and the lap belt snug across the top of their thighs. They should never ride unbelted. Some seats can be used with their internal harness for children up to 65 pounds.When possible, buy a new seat for your baby. Try out the car seat in your car; return it to the seller if it's difficult to install or use.Don't accept a hand-me-down with an unknown history or one that is more than six years old. If you must have a used seat, avoid recalled models by checking www.recalls.gov.Return the registration card so you can be notified of a recall.NHTSA recently issued new advice: Parents can be confident that a child car seat will continue to do its job after a minor crash. The agency defines a minor crash as one that causes no visible car-seat cracks or deformities; injures no one in the car; results in no damage to the door or doors nearest the car seat; and does not trigger the air bags.