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May 12, 2020 by Greg Baumgartner
New parents often experience a lot of worry about something happening to their baby. Driving your car with a baby on board can be particularly nerve-wracking, and the inevitable anxiety is often not the best for your driving skill. Call a child injury lawyer in Houston at Baumgartner Law Firm if your child is hurt in an accident.
Here are some tips to help you drive more safely and worry less about the safety of your little one.
Children should be in a rear-facing car seat until at least one. In some states, it’s legally required until 2, and some experts recommend keeping your child in a rear-facing seat even longer.
A rear-facing seat supports your baby’s head and neck in the event of a crash and can reduce fatalities by as much as 71%. Your first car seat should be rear-facing only with a carrier handle.
Your car seat should meet NHTSA standards and be installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Make sure the car seat works with your car; sometimes, they don’t fit together. And, of course, your baby should be properly strapped in. Once your baby outgrows the infant car seat, get a convertible car seat, but keep them rear-facing.
Get the infant car seat before the baby arrives. You may need it to get home from the hospital. Infants must be in the back seat. Finally, register your car seat so you will be notified if there is a recall. Also, the first time you install your car seat, have it checked.
The local fire department may do this for free. Don’t buy a second-hand car seat. You don’t know if it’s already been in a wreck.
If you give your baby toys, secure them to the car seat. They will be dropped, your child will cry, and you will have to pull over. This also keeps toys from turning into missiles if you have to hit the brakes. Newborns are best with no toys at all. They will most likely sleep.
If you are using a pacifier, tether that to the car seat too. A pacifier can often be a good option to keep your baby quiet in the car.
It’s always bad to talk and drive and worse to text and drive. When you also have a baby to think about, not much of your brain is left for concentrating on the road. Turn your phone off altogether rather than using hands-free or screen-based systems. It’s just too much distraction for anyone to cope with.
What is the best place to put your phone? The back seat is next to your baby. New parents forget their child is there all the time because it’s not part of the routine yet, and this is how babies get left in cars. It might seem callous that you’re more likely to remember your phone, but you have had the phone longer than the baby.
Baby starts fussing; you look at baby, and bad things happen. Reduce the risk that your baby will make trouble by feeding and changing just before you head out. If possible, time your trip for when she is already tired. If she’s asleep, so much the better.
Never try to feed your baby while driving. Or even while somebody else is driving unless there’s no other alternative. Pullover first.
If you don’t have defensive driving skills, the time to learn them is when you find out you are pregnant. Defensive driving means that you are prepared to react to other drivers, ready for the unexpected, control your speed and distance between cars, and stay alert.
A defensive driving course is something every driver should consider as an investment in saving lives and time.
Install a sunshade in the side window closest to your baby. Nobody likes the sun right in their eyes, and that includes a young baby. Bright sun can wake up your baby and cause them to start fussing or crying. This will also help your child stay at the right temperature.
As any new parent knows, sleep is a rare commodity for parents of a newborn. Drowsy driving was responsible for at least 800 deaths yearly, which is probably a lowball. The risk to new parents is as high as to shift workers or overworked commercial drivers.
If you are trading off who gets up to deal with the baby, have the other parent drive the next day. And understand that if you are not safe to drive, you might have to put off the trip, whether you have your child in the car or not.
Try to keep a regular sleep schedule, avoid alcohol even if you are not nursing, and be ready to pull over if you have warning signs such as yawning, missing your exit, or drifting from your lane.
Install a mirror in the back seat so you can see your child with a glance in the rearview mirror. Don’t use this as an excuse to keep eye contact with your baby.
Seeing the infant will help keep you from being stressed out, and the mirror will keep you from turning around to check on them and taking your eyes off the road.
Avoid driving alone with your baby as much as possible, especially on longer trips, trade-off driving, and having the parent or friend who is not driving sit in the back with the baby. That way, they can take care of your kid while you focus on driving. This may not always be possible, but it will help keep you much more relaxed and your baby quieter.
While many things are the same when you have a baby, you must remember that you have an extra distraction in the car. It is all the more important to be rested, drive defensively, and remove distractions such as your cell phone from the equation.
Brought to you by the Houston personal injury lawyers at Baumgartner Law Firm.
6711 Cypress Creek Pkwy, Houston, TX, 77069
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Since founding the Baumgartner Law Firm in 1985, Greg Baumgartner has established himself as a leading personal injury attorney in Houston, Texas, with a focus on representing severely injured accident victims and families who have suffered the loss of a loved one. His commitment to excellence in legal advocacy has earned him recognition from prestigious organizations, including Super Lawyers and the Top 100 Trial Lawyers and others. With decades of experience, Greg is consistently peer-reviewed and holds a preeminent rating, reflecting his dedication to achieving justice for his clients.
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