Only 29 per cent of parents are doing it correctly

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Three out of every four people with babies get this wrong, and as of this August, only 29 per cent of people were getting it right.

That is the proper installation of car seats, said Celeste Donkersgoed, public relations specialist at The Co-operators Group, which also helps to oversee Buckle Up Bears, a car seat safety clinic for parents to learn how to properly install car seats.

The issue of improperly installed car seats has been prevalent for years and Donkersgoed said the reason parents find it so difficult to get it right is simply because there are so many varieties of car seats.

"Nothing is streamlined, not one company makes only one style of seat, there are many different ones available and many different styles of vehicles," she said.

Simply put, there is not one seat that fits perfectly in all cars. Not only that, each seat will fit differently, harnesses are different and each have different features so the instillation of each differs.

"There isn't a list that shows which seat goes with which car and many parents prefer a certain look for a car seat with certain features," she said.

Donkersgoed said the most important thing is that the seat fits in the car properly and for parents to look for features that are safe and approved by the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. There should be a CMVSS sticker on your car seat if it is.

"Just make sure it's legal in our country. For example, when prices are good in the States, people will cross the border and buy a car seat for $100 cheaper, but when they come here, technically, if an officer stopped them and saw they had a seat without the CMVSS label, they can get a fine," she said.

Toronto police Const. Steve Burns of traffic services, has been doing car seat clinics for the past six years, and said he has seen some unacceptable things on the road including a mom breastfeeding while a passenger in a car and a baby on someone's lap because there wasn't enough room for a car seat and all their passengers.

Car seats are necessary to keep your babies safe and Burns said many expecting parents' first mistake is buying the three-in-one convertible seats, which are too big for newborns.

"You should buy the infant-only seat that comes with the bucket and the base because they're designed for infants and could be used until six to eight months before you move up to the bigger seat," he said.

Burns said the Ministry of Transportation estimates that 80 per cent of people have their car seats incorrectly installed but he estimates it to be closer to 90 per cent.

One of the most common mistakes he sees is the base being too loose. The base should not move more than one inch side to side. Another mistake that's often made is that some people use both the universal latch and the seat belt.

"You use one or the other, the seat belt system or the latch system," he said. "It hasn't been tested by Transport Canada, they've only tested one method, one or the other, and it's almost like a secondary impact if you get rear-ended."

Donkersgoed said one of the biggest mistakes they encounter is the child's harness straps being too loose, which means the child is not secure enough in the seat.

"If the child isn't harnessed in tight enough, the child could torpedo out of their seat, come out of their harness and be ejected from the vehicle," she said.

To ensure the child will stay in the seat, parents should only be able to get one finger under the collarbone. The chest clip should be at armpit level and make sure there are no twists in the harness.

"If the chest clips were too low and into the soft area of the belly, when you're in a collision those harness straps are absorbing a lot of the forces of the crash. If that is across a baby's soft abdomen it could cause severe internal injury," she said.

One of the biggest mistakes both Donkersgoed and Burns warn parents against is buying or taking a car seat second hand. If it's used, you don't know the history of the seat and that is unsafe.

"If your car seat has already been in a collision in a vehicle, you should replace your seat even if a child was not in the seat at the time of the collision," she said, "Without knowing the history of your car seat, you're putting you child in danger."

Burns added that besides not knowing the history, buying a new seat ensures there are also no other less visible damages to the car seat.

"Because our climate is hot and cold, we know temperature affects plastic and it does break down over time, so you may not know if there's a hairline crack in the seat itself," he said.

While car seat instillation may seem daunting, both Donkersgoed and Burns suggest visiting a car seat clinic before your baby arrives so you can be sure the seat is installed properly before you take your baby home from the hospital.

The Co-operators Group also have a new DVD available called Car Seat Safety that provides a visual how-to and other useful tips. To request a free copy, or to find a clinic in your community, e-mail community@cooperators.ca.

For information on the next traffic services car seat clinic near you, call your local police station.

Visit www.safekidscanada.ca and click child passenger safety for more information about car seat safety.