Buckle up!!!

Okay posting kali ni i nak tulis pasal pemakaian tali pinggang keledar untuk kanak-kanak sebab mengikut pengamatan i, rakyat Malaysia mengabaikan kepentingan pemakaian tali pinggang keledar belakang. Ada i terserempak dengan kanak-kanak yang mengeluarkan kepalanya di tingkap belakang kereta (tingkap kereta terbuka luas....ehmmm mak ayah dia tak kisah???) dan dah tentu tanpa memakai tali pinggang keledar. Bayangkan kalau pemandu brek mengejut atau ada motosikal approach berhampiran?. Tidakkah kemalangan bakal berlaku. Mungkin ada yang kata tak kena lagi.....kalau kena baru nak sedar ke?.

Ada i tanya seorang 'orang berumur' tentang pemakaian tali pinggang keledar. Beliau membalas dengan berkata 'buat apa pakai?...Nanti kalau terjatuh dalam sungai, mati tak boleh nak buka tali pinggang keledar'. Abis......hang nak pi bawak kereta masuk dalam sungai ke???.....Begitulah mentaliti orang yang tidak tahu kepentingan memakai tali pinggang keledar. Kalau bapak dah gitu, anak2 nak pakai tali pinggang keledar ker??....Jawapannyer agak

Adoila...nasib i tak tergelak.....depan dier.....hihihi...Sowi lar.....okay ni ada gambar seorang kanak2 yang duduk di kerusi kanak2. 

Ni Dania my daughter lar kat Child's Safety Seat....(Pakai baju biasa i.e. Jubah T-Shirt Muslimah sebab Tadika Little Caliphs hari ni ada sambutan Maulidur Rasul dan nak sambut Feb's Birthday Babies) 

And pagi tadi jugak, Dania dah pakaikan Teddy dier tali pinggang keledar.....cute tak?...

(Si kecil ni pun tahu sumer kena pakai seat belt termasuklah teddy dier...)

Sebenarnyer, nak bagi tahu melentur buluh biar dari rebung. Educate anak anda tentang kepentingan pemakaian tali pinggang keledar supaya dier faham. Macam anak i, i bagi contoh anak teacher dier umur 5 tahun, met with an accident. Langgar dari arah bertentangan dan anak teacher ni pakai tali pinggang keledar. Ok lah tapi duduk di bahagian depan. Habis bahu ada kesan lebam tali pinggang keledar dan muka lebam terkena airbag. Moral of the story, kanak2 umur 5 tahun paling selamat duduk di bahagian belakang. At least sampai umur 12 tahun sebab impact untuk anak kecil dengan airbag di bahagian depan, boleh membawa maut....I selalu cakap kat Dania, kalau duduk kat depan, nak jadi macam dot dot dot...bahaya kalau accident....

Kalau tengok movie Mat Salleh, perasan tak kalau ader kanak2 kat belakang mesti pakai seat belt. Mat Salleh ni very particular in terms of safety. Bagi mereka safety 1st. Ini termasuk dalam rekaan kereta. Kalau tengok movie Malaysia, kadang-kadang orang dewasa seat belt pun tak pakai...ehmmm....

Di bawah ni ada article yang i ambik dari internet.......

To Restrain or Not To Restrain
Florida law requires all children under six years of age to be properly restrained while riding in a vehicle. Children through age three must be secured in a separate safety seat or a vehicle's integrated safety seat. Children aged 4-5 must be properly restrained in either a safety seat or a vehicle safety belt. 

The following information is provided by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ("NHTSA"):

• Fact: In a 30 m.p.h. crash (which is much slower than most of us drive to the grocery store!), an unrestrained child is thrown forward with a force similar to falling from a three story building
• Fact: Holding a 25 pound child in a 30 m.p.h. crash is like trying to catch a 750 pound block of cement. Holding a child on your lap puts the child in a position to be crushed between you and the dashboard.

When properly installed, child safety seats save lives. The NHTSA estimates that child safety seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 69% for infants and by 47% for toddlers (ages 1-4).

Selecting and Installing Your Safety Seat
When selecting your safety seat, make certain the seat meets federal safety standards and is compatible with your vehicle. Test it in your vehicle. If you are unable to install the seat securely, call the manufacturer and/or your vehicle manufacturer for assistance. If you continue to have problems, return the seat for a model that is more compatible with your vehicle. Remember: this is not a one-size-fits-all product.

When shopping for a new automobile, take your safety seat with you. If you are unable to install the seat securely, you have two options: 1) you may need to consider a different auto, or 2) be aware that the purchase of a new safety seat (compatible with the vehicle you will be purchasing) may be necessary.

When installing your safety seat, READ YOUR VEHICLE OWNER'S GUIDE and the instructions provided from the safety seat manufacturer carefully. Follow these instructions. A seat improperly installed will not protect your child. Because the features of both vehicles and safety seats vary greatly, there is no standard instructions regarding installation. However, the NHTSA offers the following tips that apply to all:

• Children belong in the back seat. All safety seats should be installed in the back.
• To work properly, the safety seat must be held tightly with the vehicle's safety belt. To make it tight, push the safety seat down into the seat padding while you tighten the belt around it. Pushing down on it with your knee will help to get a really tight fit.
• Test your seat. Pull on the seat and push it hard from side to side. If the belt loosens and lets your safety seat move, your child may not be protected well.
• Check that your vehicle seat belt locks. Pull the belt out and let it go back slightly. Then pull it out gently. If it locks, you have a seatbelt that will hold the safety seat tightly. If not, you will need another mechanism that will keep your belt tight, such as a locking clip (refer to your vehicle owner's handbook). If a locking clip is needed, many car dealerships give the clips away for free.

The Chronology of the Safety Seat
Ages 0-1: The Rear Facing Infant (or Convertible) Seat
Most of us know that a newborn should ride in a rear facing infant safety seat. What we may not be aware of is that a baby should ride facing rearward until they are one year old and weigh at least 20 pounds. Even if your six-month-old meets the twenty-pound criteria, the child should remain in a rear facing infant seat until the age of one. According to Barbara Powell, Traffic Safety Specialist at the Sate of Florida Department of Transportation, the child's neck and spine structure is not developed enough to keep an infant safe in a front facing car seat until around the age of one. Therefore, your child is better protected if he remains in the infant seat. Additional points to remember about a rear facing infant seat are:

• NEVER place a rear facing infant seat in the front seat or near an airbag.
• A snug harness is important. In a crash, the shoulder straps hold your baby down in the safety seat.
• A clip is typically used to keep the straps on your baby's shoulders. Keep the clip at mid chest (armpit) level.
• To help support the baby's head, the seat should recline somewhat, but not more than a 45 degree angle. If needed, a rolled up towel can be placed under the seat to achieve this recline.

Ages 1-4: The Front Facing Safety Seat
It is often an exciting and much anticipated change to place your child in a front facing seat. A safety seat of this kind will be used for several years - when your child weighs 20-40 pounds and is typically between the ages of 1-4. Tips to remember include:

• If the seat converts from a reclining infant seat, adjust it to sit upright when it is used facing forward.
• Again, NEVER place the child in the front seat or near an airbag.
• Move harness straps to the top-most slots when the seat is faced forward. (The NTHSA recommends the middle setting found on many convertible seats should not be used when the seat faces forward, primarily because the harness straps should be at or above shoulder level when the seat is faced forward). NOTE OF CAUTION: When moving the straps up, be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully. It is important that the straps be threaded and secured correctly in order to provide proper restraint for your child. If done incorrectly, the straps may come loose in a crash and may not protect your child.

When does your child outgrow the safety seat and when is it no longer needed? Typically, this occurs when a child is four, although the following criteria should also be met:

• When the child is age four and weighs at least 40 pounds.
• When the safety seat's harness is too short when fully extended.
• When the child's ears reach the top of the safety seat.

When these criteria are met, your child is ready to move to a car booster seat, or a vehicle safety belt that fits well.

Ages 4+: The Booster Seat
The NHTSA recommends children use a booster seat instead of the auto's safety belt for the following reasons:

• Most 40 pound children are not tall enough for a combination lap and shoulder belt to fit properly.
• Many young children will not sit still enough to keep lap belts low on their hips. Belts that ride up on their tummies can be hazardous.
• Boosters are comfortable for children because they allow their legs to bend normally. In addition, they enable the child to gain a better view out the window.

There are three primary types of booster seats:

1. A booster with a shield (which helps to protect the upper body) should be used when a child is riding in a seat which provides a lap belt only (such as the center seat).
2. A booster without a shield is used with a vehicle's lap/shoulder belt. Because raising the child up in the booster seat improves the belt's fit, they are called "belt-positioning" boosters. These give better protection than boosters with shields.
3. A booster seat with a high back rest. A child's head should be supported by the seat back of the vehicle. If the tops of the child's ears extend above the seat back, a booster with a high back should be used to protect the child's neck.

How long should a booster seat be used? The simple answer is, until the vehicle belt fits properly. According to the NHTSA, usually kids over 80 pounds and eight years old can fit correctly in a vehicle's lap/shoulder belt. Try the belt on from time to time as your child grows taller. Keeping the belt snug, the lap belt should fit low on the hips and over the child's upper thighs. The shoulder belt should cross (and remain on) the shoulder, close to the chest. NEVER put a shoulder belt under the child's arm so it crosses the lower chest. This could cause serious injury. If the shoulder belt fits so badly that it hooks under the child's chin or goes across the face, continue using a booster seat.

A Word About Airbags
Airbags save lives. Or, to further qualify this statement, airbags save adult lives when used properly. Children should never be placed in the front seat. This was true before airbags, and it is especially true with airbags. Studies have continually proven children are safest in the back seat. Airbags and children can be a deadly combination. We all know how tempting it is to place that cute little bundle-of-joy in the seat next to you, so you can play with the baby and look at his sweet face as you drive. But don't! The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia reveals that if the passenger is in close proximity to the airbag or is unrestrained, the airbag (which deploys at 140-200 m.p.h.) will make contact with the passenger. This image alone - and the potential damage this force would do to your child - should be enough to deter an adult from EVER taking a chance in placing a child near an airbag.

Newer automobiles, particularly those vehicles without a back seat, may come equipped with an on/off switch for the passenger side airbag. Even so, children should NOT be placed in the front seat. With the hectic rituals involved in loading children into the car, it is all too easy to forget to turn that switch off after an adult passenger occupies the seat. The first known infant fatality of this nature occurred in 1998 in Ohio and involved the crash of a pickup truck equipped with an on/off switch. An infant in a rear facing seat lost his life because the switch had not been turned off. The Associated Press reported "the child seat was almost destroyed from the air bag." Regardless of the inherent dangers of a mistake such as this, the back seat is - and always has been - the safest place for children.

Ideally, older children should also be placed in the back. The U. S. government safety agency recommends that children up to age 13 ride in the back seat. If this is not possible, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the NHTSA warns it is essential to adjust the seat so it's as far back as possible. Then remember to secure the child in a properly fitting lap/shoulder belt. Children should also sit back in their seats, not perched on the edge (as far away from the airbag as possible).

So, in a short period of time, an infant safety seat, toddler safety seat, and a booster seat may join the other early childhood paraphernalia in the attic, or may become a hot selling item at next year's garage sale. But for your child's safety - and for your own peace of mind - it's an investment well worth it. 

Credit : http://www.thelaboroflove.com/forum/misc/79.html

So remember...safety 1st!!!!