texas car seat law
Do i have to ride in a kids car seat?
I live in Texas, I’m 13 years old, i weigh about 85 pound, in 4′6. Do i have to ride in a car seat by law?
The safety seat law applies to children 8 years old and younger.
You do have to wear a seat belt, but the law does not require anything more
The rear-end motor vehicle crash is one of the most frequent type of car crashes in the United States today. Moreover, they are responsible for substantial property damage as well as serious injuries and sometimes deaths. In 83% of these types of accidents, the occupants will be diagnosed with whiplash-associated disorders or WAD.
Doctors used to believe that having a whiplash injury was just a temporary condition and for some crash victims, that is true. However, new research in the long-term effects of neck injuries from the European Spine Journal has confirmed the association between having a neck injury from a motor vehicle collision and future neck pain.
In the study the researchers followed accident victims in six month increments. 73% of people show symptoms after one year.5% of the accident victims still had recurrent episodes of neck pain.
Whiplash is defined when the soft tissues of the neck are injured by a sudden jerking or “whipping” of the head”. Whipping motion causes the ligaments and muscles to be torn or stretched, far beyond their normal motion range. Even though you may be wearing a seatbelt, the belt will keep your body from moving forward but the head may snap forward, then backward, causing pain and sometimes serious long term pain.
Other symptoms are also reported, like headaches, muscle pain and ligament injury. Impingement syndrome of the shoulder is also noted in 5% of the reported injuries. This injury causes pain to radiate from the neck to the shoulder. Treatment for this type of syndrome is difficult and it should be considered if this type of pain continues.
One the best deterrents of WAD in a rear end crash is the head restraint. In 2009 statutes were enacted to require a head restraint in all cars. The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Rule is requiring head restraints to reach a minimum height of 29.5 inches upward from an occupant’s hip and must be at least 2.2 inches behind the person’s head.
Even though new head restraint laws will diminish whiplash-type injuries, an insurance survey revealed that 40% of drivers never adjusted their head restraint devices and 57% never readjusted them after someone drove their automobile. Only 14% of drivers actually knew the correct position that they should be in. It is not an apparatus to rest your head, it is a device to prevent your head from moving in a sideways motion during a rear end crash. The main point to remember is that the top of the head restraint should reach at least as high as the top of your ear and be set back no more than 3 inches from your head.
Different vehicles respond differently in an accident. Also posture and height of an individual will cause more or less injury. The Institute for Highway Safety is a organization that has a wealth of information on accident and injury statistics and head restraint ratings for your car.
Adjust your head restraint. Sitting upright with good posture is not only better looking, but is can save you from injury as well. Make sure you sit back in your seat so that your head rests close to the head restraint. If you want to minimize injury from whiplash, be sure to follow these guidelines.
Injury victims have relied on Author and Los Angeles injury lawyer James Ballidis to help them with recovery after an accident or devastating injury. You can obtain free useful books he has written to help manage an accident claim, or find a qualified attorney for your case. Call now 866 981-5596 or visit his Los Angeles injury Lawyer.
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