Cars
"We're only going to the grocery store."
"He'll stop crying if I hold him on my lap."
"She thinks she's too old to be in a car seat."
Do any of these sound familiar? They're all common reasons parents give for not putting children in appropriate car seats or seat belts. Unfortunately, unrestrained or improperly restrained children are far more likely to be injured, to suffer more severe injuries, and to die in the event of a crash.
On this Page:
Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death. In 1998, 1,765 child occupants ages 14 and under died in motor vehicle crashes, and in 1999 an estimated 272,000 were injured. Even if you're a careful driver, you can't control other drivers' behavior or eliminate the possibility of a crash. You can, though, greatly reduce the risk that your children will be seriously injured or killed.
Why Kids Are at Risk:
The bottom line is that how your child rides in your car may be just as important as external factors such as vehicle speed and road conditions.
Riding unrestrained is the single greatest risk factor for death and injury among child motor vehicle occupants. If your child is one of the approximately 29 percent of children ages 4 and under who ride unrestrained, he is at twice the risk of death and injury as those who are restrained in vehicles. 
Misuse is common. An estimated 85 percent of children who are placed in car seats and booster seats are improperly restrained. Misuse includes but is not limited to: using an inappropriate seat for the child's age and size, placing an infant who is either under one year or under 20 pounds in a forward-facing seat, not securing the seat tightly in the vehicle and not securing the child correctly in the seat.
The back seat is safest. It is estimated that children ages 12 and under are up to 36 percent less likely to die in a crash if they are in the rear seat of a passenger vehicle.
Other Risk Factors:
- As of November 1, 2000, 98 children have been killed by passenger air bags. Nearly 20 percent of these deaths were among infants in rear-facing car seats placed in front of a passenger airbag. Almost all children killed by passenger airbags were either unrestrained or improperly restrained at the time of the crash.
- Most crashes (75 percent) occur within 25 miles of home. The majority also occur on roads with posted speed limits of 40 mph or less.
- More than one-fifth of all traffic deaths among children ages 14 and under involve alcohol. Nearly 65 percent of the children killed in alcohol-related crashes are passengers in vehicles with drunk drivers.
- Rural areas have higher motor vehicle crash incidence rates and death rates; crashes in these areas also tend to be more severe.
Protecting Your Family:
The single most important thing you can do to protect your children is to buckle them up properly, every time. It works: it's estimated that more than 300 children ages 4 and under were saved as a result of child restraint use in 1999.
- All children 12 and under should ride in the back seat.
Seatbelts:
Make it Click! Each year, car crashes injure and kill more kids than any disease. If used properly, child safety seats and safety belts do protect children in a crash and help save lives.
"If used properly..." What does that mean?
- Using a child safety seat RIGHT makes a big difference. Be sure to read, follow, and keep the directions. Use the safety seat until your child outgrows it, up to about age 4 or 40 pounds.
- When your child weighs between 40 and 60 pounds, use a booster seat following manufacturers' instructions.
- When your child is big enough to wear a lap-shoulder belt only, make sure the shoulder strap fits snugly. If it crosses the child's face or throat, place it behind the child and use the lap belt only OR use a belt-positioning device. Never place a shoulder strap under the child's arm! Buckle lap belts low and snug across the hips, not stomach.
So why isn't YOUR child buckled up?
|
EXCUSE:
|
"My child is safest in my arms."
|
|
FACT:
|
Your child will not be protected in your arms or lap. The force of a crash will pull a child from your arms. Your body can crush a child against the dashboard.
|
|
EXCUSE:
|
"Safety belts will trap us if the car catches on fire or falls into water."
|
|
FACT:
|
Only a very small number of crashes involve fire or falling into water. Even so, safety belts keep passengers unhurt and alert enough to escape.
|
|
EXCUSE:
|
"I can grab my child in a crash."
|
|
FACT:
|
Probably not. Crashes happen suddenly, allowing less than onehalf second to react. Very few adults can react that fast.
|
|
EXCUSE:
|
"We might be saved if we're thrown clear of the car in a crash."
|
|
FACT:
|
Your chances of being killed are 25 times greater if you are thrown from the car. Think about it - there are only two ways out - through an open door, or through the glass.
|
Protecting Communities:
Despite increased awareness, car seat and safety belt usage rates are still disturbingly low. Only 6 percent of booster seat-age children, for example, are properly restrained. Strong occupant protection laws are a proven way to help parents remember to buckle up their children.
Most collisions happen close to home. So no matter how short the ride, make sure everyone in the car is buckled up, including you. Set a safe example
A significant majority (90 percent) of Americans favor stronger enforcement of laws that require all children to be buckled up. In fact, many parents rely on these laws as a guideline to help keep their kids safe. All 50 states have some form of child restraint law. These laws vary widely in their age requirements, exemptions, enforcement procedures and penalties. Unfortunately, most still have major gaps in their coverage. Going "by the book," in other words, may not be good enough. There is more you can do.
What SAFE KIDS is Doing:
Since 1997, the SAFE KIDS BUCKLE UP program, sponsored by General Motors, has been reminding and empowering parents to restrain their kids safely. Caregivers can call our free hotline, (800) 441-1888, to receive a how-to video and companion brochure. You can also attend a hands-on SAFE KIDS BUCKLE UP Car Seat Check Up event, where a trained car seat checker will help you determine the appropriate seat for your child and vehicle and position it correctly.
In the spring of 1999, SAFE KIDS and General Motors formed a new alliance with the United Auto Workers, the National Council of La Raza and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, in support of Gen. Colin Powell's America's Promise initiative. This new SAFE KIDS partnership distributes car seats to Hispanic and African-American families in need.
For years, the National SAFE KIDS Campaign has monitored state child occupant protection laws and advocated for tougher laws and enforcement where necessary. Their current comprehensive chart of all 50 state laws is available through their Resource Catalog.
How You Can Help:
- Become a certified child passenger safety technician, so you can check car seats of neighbors and friends.
- Advocate for any gaps in coverage to be closed and for stronger enforcement provisions.
- Distribute child passenger safety educational materials to parents in your community.
- Encourage public agencies such as police departments, fire departments and hospitals to create, expand or continue child passenger safety programs.
- Encourage private organizations such as local insurance companies and retail businesses to support child passenger safety programs.
- Contact your local SAFE KIDS chapter and help with their child passenger safety efforts.
Air Bags:
AIR BAG SAFETY:
BUCKLE EVERYONE!
CHILDREN IN BACK!
Air bags save lives. They work best when everyone is buckled and children are properly restrained in the back seat. Children riding in the front seat can be seriously injured or killed when an air bag comes out in a crash.An air bag is not a soft, billowy pillow. To do its important job, an air bag comes out of the dashboard at up to 200 miles per hour - faster than the blink of an eye. The force for an air bag can hurt those who are too close to it. Drivers can prevent air bag related injuries to adults and children by following the critical safety points:
- Children 12 and under should ride buckled up in a rear seat.
- Infants should NEVER ride in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger side air bag.
- Small children should rid in a rear seat in child safety seats approved for their age and size.
- Check your vehicle owner's manual and the instructions provided with your child safety seat for correct use information.
- Everyone should buckle up with both lap AND shoulder belts on every trip.
- Driver and front passenger seats should be moved as far back as practical, particularly for shorter statured people.
For more information about Air Bags please contact:
Air Bag Safety Campaign
National Safety Council
1025 Connecticut Ave.,
NW 12th Floor
Washington, DC 20036-5405
|
