Texas DOT simulates rollover crash to stress importance of seatbelts, child safety seats

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) recently demonstrated what happens inside vehicle cabins during rollover crashes to emphasize the importance of wearing seatbelts and properly installing child safety seats.

KVII 7 Amarillo reports the simulator rotates at speeds up to 35 mph.

“In Texas, you either drive a truck or you know somebody with a truck,” TxDOT Traffic Safety Specialist Laviza Matthews told the news station. “They think that they’re safer in a truck because it’s bigger, but we have more rural fatalities… because you’re going faster, not wearing a seatbelt. You’re on a caliche road or a dirt road, you lose control, and it ends up usually being a fatality.”

TxDOT offers free child safety seat inspections throughout the year. To schedule one with a TxDOT traffic safety specialist, visit SaveMeWithaSeat.org and enter your ZIP code to find the nearest TxDOT district office.

For repairers, it’s essential to inform customers that child safety or booster seats involved in collisions may be damaged and require replacement. OEMs also recommend post-collision damage inspections of seatbelts and air bags in their repair procedures, which often require replacement.

Texas law requires that all children younger than 8 years old, unless taller than 4 feet 9 inches, be secured in a child safety seat whenever they ride in a vehicle. Older children who have outgrown a booster seat must use a seatbelt. Failure to properly restrain a child can result in a ticket of up to $250.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of death for children under 14, showing the critical need for parents and caregivers to make sure their children are in the right seat for their age and size. When used effectively, car seats can reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers, according to NHTSA and the Ad Council.

Information to help parents and guardians purchase the right car seat for their children is available from NHTSA here.

Images

Featured image credit: Mariia Vitkovska/iStock

Illustration provided by TxDOT