Securing Children in Your RV

A nationwide survey on child passenger safety has revealed that 21% of grandparents say they never use a child seat when their grandchildren, eight years of age or younger, are in their vehicle.

Unfortunately, when it comes to seatbelts and child car seats, RVs are commonly thought of differently than other vehicles. People tend to have a relaxed attitude about riding in the back of an RV and may not be as diligent about buckling up.

Regardless of whether you're riding in a car or an RV, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends children who weigh less than 40 lbs. should always be confined to a child safety seat. If an accident should occur in your RV, having children properly restrained is vital to their safety.

According to Carla Levinski at the Oregon Department of Transportation, "Most vehicle and child seat manufacturers warn against using a side-facing passenger seat for installing child seats." It's also not safe for a child safety seat to be placed in a chair that swivels. Where, then, is the best location for a child safety seat in your RV? According to Levinski, even though it's recommended all children under the age of 12 ride in the back seat of a vehicle, if your RV doesn't have any forward-facing, non-swivel seats, the only option is to place a child, from birth to 8 years, in a car or booster seat properly restrained in the front passenger position.

However, there's one catch: Always make sure your RV's passenger seat airbag is turned off before placing a child in this position. "Infants in rear-facing child safety seats must never ride in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger air bag," according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Sadly, there have been several cases in which children have died as a result of airbag deployment. In many of these accidents, the babies were in rear-facing safety seats-the back of the safety seat was positioned close to the dashboard and the airbag hit the car seat with such extreme force, it broke the back of the car seat and caused a fatal brain injury. In general, children under 4 foot, 9 inches tall are at greater risk of injury due to airbag deployment. If your RV has passenger seat airbags but doesn't have an on/off switch, you may consider getting one installed.

Once you've determined the safest place for your child passenger, make sure you have the correct child seat and position for the child's age and weight. From birth to 1 year or 20 lbs., the car seat should always be rear-facing. At 1 year and over 20 lbs., you may move the car seat so that it faces forward. Finally, when a child reaches 40 lbs. and is 4 to 8 years old, move to a booster seat. Booster seats insure a seat belt hits the child in a safe and effective position. The lap belt should fit low and tight across the lap and the shoulder belt snugly across the chest and shoulder.

Statistics show that 80% of child safety seats are used incorrectly. If you are unsure whether or not your child restraint system is properly installed, stop at a safety checkpoint. There are child safety seat inspection stations across the nation.

After purchasing a new child safety seat, the NHTSA recommends completing and returning the registration card. This is the only way a car seat manufacturer can notify you in case of a recall. Visit NHTSA for a current list of recalled child safety seats.

To end on a positive note, the NHTSA reports that child car seats, when properly installed, can reduce the risk of death in vehicle collisions by 69% for infants and 47% for toddlers. Clearly, these statistics illustrate the importance of using child safety seats anytime you drive.