Parent Talk / December 2006
A Little Restraint
Parents that have ever traveled with a car full of squirming youngsters are probably the most fervent supporters of car restraints for children. But, they are backed up by the results of a recent study on child restraints.
The report revealed that as children age, their risk of injury or death in a motor vehicle crash significantly increases due to improper child restraint use. Key factors for the increased risk are moving children from child restraints to adult seat belts and then to the front seat prematurely.
The Partners for Child Passenger Safety Fact and Trend Report, the world’s largest study of children in automobile crashes, is a collaborative effort by State Farm and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
The study found that 46 percent of children ages 4-8 were improperly restrained in adult seat belts, making them three times more likely to be injured in a crash than younger infants and toddlers.
“There is a crucial step many parents are missing-kids need to use a booster seat from around age 4 until they’re 4’9”, said Kristy Arbogast, PhD., director of field engineering for The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “As children get older, their risk of being injured in a crash increases, primarily because they’re being moved from the protection of child seats with harnesses, directly into adult seat belts, and into the front seat. All children need to be seated in the back seat until age 13.”
For children under the age of 8 years, following the guidelines for age and size-appropriate restraint can reduce the risk of serious injury in a vehicle crash to less than 1 percent.
Since the majority of crashes involving children occur within ten minutes of home and because motor vehicle crashes are the number one killer of children over the age of one, parents must be diligent about their children’s safety, every ride, every time. Many tragedies can be prevented with the proper use of vehicle safety restraints.
The PCPS Fact and Trend Report noted that child restraint use among children over age eight has improved from 51 per cent to 73 per cent since 1999. States with comprehensive booster seat laws reported the most progress in increasing child restraint use through 8 years of age. The three states with the highest rate of booster seat use among 4-8 year olds have child passenger safety laws requiring all children under eight to ride in a child safety seat or booster seat.
Parents of teens and toddlers should know that although only 7.4 percent of crashes involving children occur with teen drivers between 16-19, children driven by teens were 3.5 times more likely to be injured than those driven by people older than 20.
The Partners for Child Passenger Safety Fact and Trend Report was developed through an ongoing research collaboration between The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the nation’s first pediatric hospital and State Farm. Data is provided by State Farm customers during confidential in-depth interviews from January 1999-December 2005. As of December 31, 2005, more than 455,000 State Farm customers, transporting 669,000 children, participated in the study. The report is the largest source of data on children in motor vehicle crashes and the basis of more than 50 scientific papers since 2000.
Copyright © 2007 A Woman's View. All rights reserved.
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