You have probably heard or read that if you do not buckle up, you are more likely to die in an automobile accident. However, you may not know that if you do not fasten your seat belt, you are also likely to leave your infant or child unbuckled.

According to the National Safety Council, state-by-state surveys show significant declines in safety belt use for kids whose adult drivers go unbuckled. Failure to protect infants and children with car seats and seat belts results in an annual tragedy. Every year traffic accidents are the leading cause of death in children aged 14 and younger in the United States. About half of those kids are unrestrained.

You can do something about it: buckle up!

If you fasten your seat belt, then you are three times more likely to fasten your child's seat belt. This gives both parent and child a much better chance of surviving an automobile accident. However, if you do not buckle up, then both you and your child are at a much greater risk of dying in an auto accident.

State by state, unfastened adults leave their kids unfastened. In Connecticut only 56 percent of children in cars with unfastened drivers are buckled and in Colorado the number goes down to 11 percent.

Even if your child is buckled in, remember these points concerning:

• Safety seats. Always read the instructions for proper use of your child's safety seat. Use a rear-facing seat for an infant to a one year old (up to 20 pounds). A convertible rear to forward-facing seat, or a seat that is only forward facing are meant for a child over one year who weighs 20 to 40 pounds. The forward-facing, belt-positioning booster seat is appropriate for older children ages 4 to 8 (over 40 pounds).

• Children and airbags. In cars equipped with a passenger airbag, make sure the child is restrained in the back seat. The front seat airbag deploys with a tremendous force that can kill an infant securely fastened in a car seat or child with a fastened seatbelt, especially if the front seat is too close to the dashboard. Thus, children 12 and under are safer in the back seat in cars equipped with airbags.

External Sources National Safety Council Airbag and Seatbelt Safety Campaign Florida Traffic Safety Resource Center National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Centers for Disease Control Safe Kids USA. Car - Frequently Asked Questions. Accessed April 16, 2007.

This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.