Coats Can Be Car Seat Hazards

(BLOOMINGTON) – As the weather turns chilly, remember that coats could impede your child’s car seat from working as it should.

Call 812.333.2304 to sign up for a free Riley Physicians safety check and learn how to best protect your child while out on the road.

One issue parents may not think about is the fact that coats can affect the fit and efficiency of car seat straps during a car accident.

Instead, strap in the child without the coat, or with a thin jacket, and place the coat or a blanket over top of the straps to keep them warm.

During safety checks, the trained child seat inspection team will go over important safety information like this and will ensure the seat itself is installed correctly. Safe car seat installations rely on a lot of factors, so make sure to bring the following to your appointment:

  • Car seat and vehicle instruction manuals
  • The car seat
  • The vehicle
  • The child (preferred, but not necessary)

Riley Physicians offers free safety checks at 5081 N. Old State Road 37 in Bloomington throughout the year in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI).

All children less than eight years of age are required by Indiana’s child passenger safety law to be properly restrained in a federally approved child restraint system. Once your child is big enough to fit in a seat belt properly, remember that the safest place for your child is still in the back seat.

For more information on Indiana’s child passenger seat law, please visit: http://www.in.gov/cji/2383.htm. For a complete list of child seat inspection stations by county offered throughout the state, visit: http://www.childseat.in.gov.

To learn more about IU Health Southern Indiana Physicians, please visit:
iuhealth.org/southern-indiana-physicians.