When it comes to car seat safety, you do everything you can to ensure your little one is secure, but do you take the same precautions when it comes to buckling yourself in? We know the importance of wearing a seatbelt while driving and it’s been shown time and time again that they can save a life during a collision but that’s only if you’re strapped in correctly.

6 Things to Keep in Mind When Buckling Up

1. Fit is everything. If it doesn’t sit the way it should, don’t expect it to protect you the way it could. Before you buy a new car, check to see that the seat belts are a good fit for you. If you need extra room, ask the dealership about a belt adjuster or extender to ensure you are properly secured.
2. These restraints are designed to sit at the strongest parts of your body. For an adult, or older child, these are on the hips and shoulders. If a lap belt sits up on the stomach, or a shoulder belt on the neck, it could cause serious injuries in a collision. To get the correct position, you may need to remove a bulky winter coat.
3. Airbags and seatbelts are designed to work together, not replace one another. If you aren’t wearing your seatbelt when the airbag deploys, you risk being thrown into it at a high speed, which could cause serious injury, or death.
4. Be sure to use both the lap and shoulder belt. When used together they can help spread the force of the crash over a wider area of the body and put less stress on any one area. The shoulder strap can also help keep your head and body from hitting interior parts of the vehicle (such as dashboard or steering wheel).
5. Make sure the straps lay flat against your body, and don’t wear any part of your seatbelt twisted. A twisted belt won’t spread the force of a crash across your body properly.
6. Make sure you have a working seatbelt for every person in your vehicle.