Safety tips for driving with children

Driving your loved ones from place to place can seem like a chore sometimes. But, at the end of the day you wouldn’t want to have it any other way.

It’s important to follow basic safety measures to reduce the risk of you or your little ones falling victim to a fatal crash. You can do this through actions you take before setting off on the road and habits you keep while cruising along.

Here are three ways you can drive safely with your children in the backseat:

• Use seat belts and car seats: Proper use of the combination of car seats and seat belts is not only lawful, but it can also reduce the risk of a car accident death by 71%. If done correctly, you will securely attach your child’s car seat or booster seat to the actual seat of the car, and you will properly fasten their seat belt before each trip. Also, per state law, car seats for babies that are under the age of 2 and under 30 pounds, must be rear-facing. And children need to reach the age of 8 and be 60 pounds to graduate from a booster seat.
• Resist distractions: As a parent, your life is probably always on the go. Balancing a career and household chores on top of caring for your children often leaves you with little to no “me time.” However, it’s important to keep in mind that texting or scrolling through social media has no place behind the wheel, especially not with a car full of children. In fact, about nine people die every day in distracted driving incidents on U.S. roads, so keeping your eyes peeled is truly a matter of life and death.
• Set an example: Whether your children are young enough to need booster seat still or they are teens counting down the days until they can receive their own driver’s license, they still look up to you. As such, you should not only keep your phone down while driving, but you should also keep your speaking volume low and follow all traffic laws.

You probably take the time to teach your children to look both ways before crossing the streets, In the same way, adults sometimes need reminders of basic best practices behind the wheel too