As you search the Internet for great auto insurance online, it is important to also remember the importance of remaining safe while you drive.  This is particularly true if you have a teenager that will soon be hitting the road or even if you will be driving with a child as a passenger.  Frighteningly, the Advocates for Highway Safety organization reports that approximately 500 children between the ages of five and nine-years-old are killed every year by car accidents.  In addition, more than 100,000 children within this same age group are injured every year because they are improperly buckled.

While finding great quotes for auto insurance online is certainly something every car owner wants to do, it is also important for you to research ways to keep the children in your car and in the cars of others safe.  Car insurance companies such as State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. agree.  For that reason, the company has joined with other organizations to form a nonprofit highway safety group called the Advocates for Highway Safety.

According to the safety group, which also includes the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as partners, over 80% of children between the ages of four and eight-years-old are not buckled properly.  Yet, only 40% of those between the ages of one and two are improperly buckled and just 20% of those between the ages of nine and fifteen are buckled improperly.  While those statistics are still frightening, there is certainly a huge gap in seatbelt safety statistics. 

To help with this problem, it is important to utilize booster seats for children between the ages of four and eight-years-old.  The booster seat serves as a sort of platform that helps lift the child from the seat, which makes it possible for the seatbelt to fit properly.  For children that are too large for toddler restraints but too small to wear an adult safety belt, the booster seat helps them ride safely.

Some states have already implemented laws requiring booster seats.  In California, Arkansas and Washington, for example, children under the age of six-years-old and weighing less than 60 pounds are required to use a booster seat.  More than a dozen other states are also considering passing similar laws.

So, next time you are searching the Internet for great quotes for auto insurance online, be sure to also look up some safety tips to help keep your child safe every time you go for a ride.