If you ever have a passenger, it is likely that they will be a child. Whether you are picking them up from school, taking them with you to work, or maybe even dropping them off at daycare, the point is that they will be in your car, strapped to the passenger in the front, booster seat in the back, or just regular seat in the back.
However, with a child in the backseat or passenger seat, the risk goes up exponentially. Not only is that YOUR kid, but it is also another liability if you get in a car accident in Miami with a passenger. That person’s life is in your hands, so how dangerous is it actually to drive with a child passenger?
Child Passenger Safety Statistics
These facts are not meant to scare you. Completely avoiding having your kid in the passenger seat is basically impossible. But, there are precautions you can take after reading the statistics of how dangerous it is to drive negligently with a child passenger.
Negligence consists of multiple factors. It is not just driving distracted, but it is also not buckling up. That includes yourself and the passenger. In just 2017 alone, almost 50% of 8-12 year olds were not buckled up. In addition, about 40% of 4-7 year olds were not buckled up. Although this may not SOUND like a lot, it actually is. In both age groups, almost half the children were not buckled up. Instead of just brushing past this statistic, it is important to acknowledge that we can all be negligent without even knowing it.
Making sure that your passenger is buckled in is the most important step. Even if it’s your best friend in the car or even your oldest kid, making sure that they are strapped in at the beginning and being stern about it is very important.
Depending on the age of the child, a seatbelt and buckling them in can reduce accidents by up to 80%. Buckling your children, passengers, or anyone for that matter is one of the safest things you can do.
If you get in a serious car accident, a seatbelt can stop you from flying through the windshield, or even hitting your head on the dashboard and sustaining serious damage. A seatbelt is basically a loose belt that will stop your body from flying around in the car during a serious accident that would otherwise compromise your body.
Safety Precautions to Take For Child Passengers
For each age group, there are certain precautions one can take. Booster seats facing the right way, whether they are facing away or towards the road. Making sure that you don’t put your passenger in the front too early, these are all safety precautions that you can take easily and follow so that there are no serious consequences if an accident DOES happen.
For more information on this, the CDC can outline the main ways to protect your passengers (especially if they are children).
Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer for Car Accident Injuries in Miami
Although it may sound like an exaggeration, car accidents in Miami almost always end up becoming a serious one with extended medical treatment (such as therapy, injections, and surgery) which result in hefty medical bills.
If the case seems to get too complicated for you to handle, contacting a personal injury lawyer in Miami is recommended.
With decades of expertise and hundreds of cases won, personal injury lawyers in Miami can help you get the first step in financial compensation for your car accident injuries.
Starting with a free consultation, we want to hear out what happened to you and how we can provide value. Once we determine that we can help you, our team will immediately go and start gathering evidence such as medical bills and receipts and photos to make sure that there is a strong case for you.
Remember, we don’t win until YOU win.