Car seat for a child has to be placed in the back seat of a vehicle, regardless of the manufacturer advices for using the car seat it in the front seat, even when the airbag is off. When it comes to the back seats, the safest place is in the middle because it is farthest away from any possible point of impact in eventual collision. However, more important than that is for the seat to be attached to the place that best suits the seat, or place where the seat should be fixed the safest following the manufacturer’s instructions.
Infants
Car seats for babies up to 10 or 13 pounds, depending on the seat, must always be facing the opposite of traveling direction and they must be adjusted so that the back of the seat angle is at 45 degrees, so that the baby’s head, neck and torso were fully supported.
If the slope is greater than advised 45, infants can head droop forward, which can lead to breathing difficulties, (this is not a problem for larger babies so at their tilt can go up to 60 degrees to the ground, as in this case and safer). If the slope is less, the collision may cause excessive stretching on the neck and spinal cord injuries, and there is a possibility that the baby’s body slips out of his safety seat.
If necessary, place a rolled-up blanket under the seat to achieve the desired slope. It is imperative that the child is in a reclined position – half-lying position, from 45 to 60 degrees compared to the ground, which can be saving the child’s life and protects it the best against serious injury.
Follow the instructions
Sometimes the belt is very short and it seems impossible when fitting the seat for a newborn to wrap a belt behind the back of the restraint as is required by the manufacturer’s instructions. If you are having this problem, try the following approach: before you plug in the belt, pull it through the specially designed grooves on the car seat including wrapping around the back. Lift the seat in the upright position than they would in the end have to be to be able to engage the belt in the seat. After you do this while gently pressing on the child seat backrest down, pull on the seat in the back seat of the vehicle up to a leading position in horizontally, as close to the angle of the back seats from 45 to 60 degrees against the ground.
When tightening the belt, make sure you do not roll it up. Also make sure that the ropes pass through the places for these purposes. It is extremely important to examine well the manufacturer’s instructions and observe them. No matter how some alternative combinations of binding might be safer, do not use them. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
While fixing the child seat to the car seat make sure to tighten the belts very good. Press all your weight onto the car seat to fix seat in the car seat while tightening the belts. It is best to work in pairs – while one person presses the seat, the other tries and tightens the belt. Do not hesitate to kneel in the very seat while pressing – you will not damage the seat and you will achieve much better installation.
Properly fitted seat should not be moving forward or side to side for more than an inch at the back of the seat no matter how hard you pull. It’s okay if the seat that faces the opposite direction of travel can be moved up or down.