Children in cars: what can happen in the event of an accident
Every day, wandering around the city, we see little ones of a few years old who are not only not secured in the seat with the appropriate belts, but are also often carried on the lap of mum or dad in the front seat. It is a profoundly wrong behavior: even when you only drive a few meters in a car there is the risk of seriously endangering a child's life.
How to transport children by car, the doctor's opinion
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In the video we asked Dr. Federico Semeraro, resuscitator anesthetist from Bologna, what are the most harmful behaviors for the safety of children and what are the possible consequences for the already small children in the event of an accident. Children have a physical structure necessarily different from that of adults, and Dr. Semeraro explains it very well in the video. The only rule to be adopted is to follow the rules. And never think that a short journey, perhaps the one from home to kindergarten or school, can in no way be less dangerous than a long journey on the highway.
The numbers explain how dangerous it is to travel without a child seat
The statistics say it, most of the accidents happen during the daily movements, those we face with lowered defenses, those we manage with safety and in a repetitive way. Even today many, too many people underestimate the problem. Dr. Semeraro explains very well that the first cause of death in the world for adults is cardiovascular disease, and therefore cardiac arrest, while for children it is precisely the trauma that follows a road accident. Dr. Semeraro says very well: “Using a metaphor, the children have new bodywork, they are made to work for a long time. The only way to damage them is to do stupid things such as not wearing a seat belt and not following the rules that must be adopted inside the passenger compartment.
It's physics baby!
Remember that what happens to a body inside a moving car is governed by the laws of physics and not by those of love. No matter how tightly you can hold your baby in your arms, in the event of an impact his little body would weigh up to twenty times as much due to the kinetic energy. It means that a 15-kilo child, for example, would weigh as much as a 300-kilo object. Easy to hold him back? We don't think so!
What can be the consequences of an accident for a child who is not properly insured
In children, trauma can cause a lot of damage. “Imagine - explains Dr. Semeraro - what can happen to a child who is not tied to the back seat or is not accommodated in the appropriate child seats. The first area where the child's body collides in the event of an accident is the windshield. In children, head trauma can be lethal: hitting the head against the windshield is one of the most frequent causes of death in children ”. If, on the other hand, the child is contained appropriately, the damage they may suffer as a result of a road accident is limited to abrasions or, following a significant acceleration or deceleration, the child may suffer from minor fractures at most. "Without safety systems - explains Federico Semeraro very well - without seat belts, children die". Conversely, if children are followed by the rules, being new to the factory and above all having less rigid bones than adults, children risk much less than mom and dad inside the car. The problem is to sensitize parents and do it even for small routes at low speeds.
