An Ontario mother has started a campaign to remind the public to “have faith” in car seats after her daughter was killed in a rollover accident two years ago.
Joy Vandermeer’s two-year-old daughter Faith was killed after her father placed her, without a car seat, in a vehicle that flipped over on a highway. All other vehicle occupants survived the crash.
“All I remember is a big doctor putting his arm around me and telling me she didn’t make it,” Vandermeer said of that terrible night just before Christmas in 2014.
Faith’s father pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The new campaign, called “Have FAITH in Car seats,” is raising awareness about the importance of car seats on Facebook, through the media and by selling T-shirts, car decals and arm bands.
Car seats, when used correctly, reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71 per cent, and the risk of serious injury by 67 per cent, according to the Canadian Paediatric Society.
The paediatric society advises infants be placed in rear-facing car seats until they are at least 12 months old and weigh 10 kg (22 lbs), or as long as they are meeting the weight and height limits in the manufacturer’s instructions.
After that, forward-facing car seats should be used until children are at least 18 kg (40 lbs).
Beyond that weight milestone, booster seats with seatbelts should be used until children can safely use a regular seat belt, which is usually at 36 kg (80 lbs) and 145 cm (4’9”) in height.
With a report from CTV London
