DID YOU KNOW?? A 40 miles per hour car crash without a car seat is like dropping the child off the top of a 5 story building.

Auto accidents are the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death in children 5 to 15 years of age

Each year approximately 1,800 children ages 14 and under are killed as occupants in motor vehicle accidents and wrecks

More than 280,000 are injured.

While car accidents can be dangerous for all passengers, infants and small children are especially at risk, due to their small and weak muscles and bones structure that help protect adults. The weight of the head of a child makes the cervical spine much more vulnerable to spinal cord injuries and head traumas. An infant has little control in the muscles of the neck, and the head can bounce from side to side and fall forward, which can cause serious spine and neck injuries. Ejections from the car seat and even the vehicle itself can occur if the seat belt buckle of either the vehicle or car seat comes unlatched during auto wreck collision or rollover accident. In other cases the infant may be injured as a result of intrusion from another vehicle due to other defects in the design or crashworthiness of the vehicle itself.

Currently, Maryland's Child Safety Seat Law states that a child younger than six years (regardless of weight) or who weighs 40 lbs or less (regardless of age) must ride in a correctly used child restraint system that meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards when in a vehicle registered in Maryland. Child restraint systems include infant seats, convertible seats, forward-facing seats, booster seats, etc Maryland driving law requires everyone seated in the front seat must have their seat belts fastened. If age 15 or younger, they must always wear a seat belt regardless of where they are seated. Any passenger in a car being driven by a person with a provisional driver's license must also use a seatbelt or a child safety seat.