huggybelt Child Safety
Seat belts are not designed with children in mind.
Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for children younger than 13. Twelve children under the age of 10 are killed or injured as passengers in cars every day. In the event of a car accident, where a child has their seat belt off their shoulder, a child could crash into the back of the front seat resulting in either injuring their head or even in death.
There is no product on the market currently that addresses the issue of retaining the seat belt on the shoulder of a child while in either a booster seat or a car seat and allowing the freedom of movement when the vehicle is in motion.
Children are often uncomfortable when wearing a seat belt as the top part of a seat belt rubs into their neck. This uncomfortable feeling results in children taking the seat belt off the shoulder and placing it underneath their arm. By doing so, a child is placing themselves at serious risk from injury (head and abdominal) or fatality in the event of a car accident. Also, by not having the seat belt on the shoulder a child turns into a human missile in the event of a car accident.
Our crash test section shows the effect of a child not having the seat belt on the shoulder even at speeds of 30mph. If a car accident occurs at speeds in the excess of 30 mph the injuries can be horrific if not fatal.