Community Magazine February 2003

22 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE s ” xc V ehicle crashes are still the leading killer of children age four to fourteen. Of the 1,000 children killed yearly, eighty percent were not properly restrained in child safety seats, and most of the parents weren’t aware of that, according to the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. There is some encouraging news howev- er, according to Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D., Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “Tremendous gains have been made in child passenger safety. Fewer children age 15 and younger were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2001 than at any time since record keeping began in 1975. Vehicle fatalities dropped 8.6 per- cent from the previous year, and injuries fell by 7.3 percent for children age five to 15 and by 11 percent for children age four and under. Today, 95 percent of infants and 91 percent of toddlers, age one to age four, are restrained in safety seats.” But Dr. Runge concedes that “More needs to be done. Less than 10 percent of children who should be restrained in booster seats ride in one. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recom- mends that children who have out- grown child safety seats be prop- erly restrained in booster seats in the back seat from about age four and 40 pounds to at least age eight, unless they are at least 4 feet 9 inches tall”. Child Passenger Safety Week 2003, February 9-15 is a national effort designed to draw attention to ways to keep young passengers safe in motor vehicles and make sure parents and child care providers know and follow every one of the 4 Steps for Kids, emphasizing that the often-missed booster seat step is essen- tial. A booster seat lifts a child up so a safety belt can fit correctly. Without a booster seat, in a crash, a small child can be ejected from a vehicle. The 4 Steps for Kids are: 1. Rear-facing infant seats in the back seat from birth to at least one year old and at least 20 pounds. 2. Forward-facing toddler seats in the back seat from age one to about age four and 20 to 40 pounds. 3. Booster seats in the back seat from about age four and 40 pounds to at least age eight, unless 4’9”. 4. Safety belts at age eight or older or taller than 4’9”. All children 12 and under should ride in the back seat. The Facts on Child Auto Safety w Most kids age four to eight need booster seats. NHTSA recommends using booster seats in the back seat for children from about age four and 40 pounds to at least age eight, unless 4’9”. w Moving to a safety belt too early greatly increases risk of injury. Children age two to five who are prematurely graduated to safe- ty belts are four times more likely to sustain a serious head injury than those restrained in child safety seats or booster seats. w Because many State laws only require children to be in a safety seat up to age four or so, many parents assume older kids are safe in just a safety belt. However, all children need to be restrained correctly whenever they ride in a motor vehicle. As of December 2002, only 15 States and the District of Columbia had enacted booster seat provisions in their child restraint laws. w The booster seat step is overlooked by the majority of people—across race and income levels. Sixty-three per- cent of children who should have been in belt-positioning booster seats, typically children age four to eight, are inappropriately restrained w Many children are placed in the wrong restraint. A third of children (33 percent) age 14 and under ride in the wrong restraint type for their age and size. The # 1 Child Killer