Winter is officially upon us. At least it is for those of us living on the east coast and even in the Midwest. And with that comes all the lovely winter things: winter hats, warm gloves or mittens, multiple layers, and thick puffy jackets. If you have children, you are probably making sure to bundle them up extra warm. However, you may not have heard the police warnings that have been passed around regarding this exact issue. During this cold time of year, police are warning parents to keep a good eye on their kids being strapped in car seats. It is advised that any bulky, winter clothes or coats should be removed before strapping a child into a car seat or booster seat.
Many parents may see this as a futile warning, but the dangers certainly are there. If an accident were to occur, a child would be compressed in their thick winter layers. With this compression in mind, the seat belt this child would be wearing would fit more loosely than it would when wearing thinner or less layers. All the loose material could result in more chances of injury or even the child to be ejected from the seat altogether!
The safe and practical alternative that police are advising for parents is to buckle in their children without the extra layers, and then simply cover them in their coat or warm blanket once buckled in. That way the child can still stay warm and be safe altogether!
Furthermore, there is a way that parents can test whether or not the clothes their child is wearing are suitable to be strapped in. First, parents can take their child with their original thick coat or layering and strap them into the car seat. Then, they can fasten the seat belt until a thumb and forefinger cannot be passed through to pinch the webbing. Then, the child can be taken out and their layering removed. If the webbing can now be pinched, this essentially means that the clothes are too bulky and pose as a safety hazard.
If you have been following this rule all along, and your seat belts themselves are the problem, head on over to Seat Belt Restore. Seat Belt Restore offers a seat belt webbing replacement service that brings your seat belts back to factory condition. When you get the seat belt webbing replacement service, the factory stitching will be replicated onto your new belts and all the original tags will be replaced. You can be assured that safety and quality will be guaranteed with Seat Belt Restore’s seat belt webbing replacement service—and a lifetime warranty will back you up just in case.