Parents want to do anything they can to protect their children. During the Nebraska winters, that means putting them into a warm winter coat. If travel is involved, it also means strapping them into a car seat as tightly as possible. Unfortunately, these two safety measures do not always mix. Those warm coats are typically very bulky, compromising the safety of any car seat.
“Even though the straps of a car seat are often tight when a parent places them into the seat, they do not usually remain that way,” says Thomas T. Inkelaar of Inkelaar Law. “While winter coats are bulky, they are not firm. After just a few minutes, that material flattens, leaving too much space between the straps and the child.”
That is the danger that comes with placing a child in a car seat while they are wearing a heavy winter coat. A car seat is only safe if the straps are tight enough to hold the child in the seat during an accident, or even an abrupt stop.
So, what can parents do to keep their child warm and safe while in the car? Safety experts recommend placing the child into the seat without their coat. Once a child is snuggly strapped in, parents can put a blanket across them, or even place the child’s jacket on backwards.
Perhaps most importantly though, parents need to remember that Nebraska has recently passed specific laws pertaining to child car seats. As of January 1, 2019, children under the age of two must sit in a rear-facing seat in the backseat. Older children under the age of eight must also remain in the back seat in a booster seat with child restraints. The only exception to the law is when the parent or caregiver has a note from a physician stating a child cannot sit in a booster seat due to their weight or medical condition.
Parents that do not follow this law will only face a fine of $25. The dangers of not placing a child in an appropriate seat however, are great. Parents that disregard the law could face consequences much worse if their child is injured while in the vehicle.
