Four to Forty
September 30, 2008 by Amy Spangler | no questions or comments
September 21 to 28 was National Child Passenger Safety Week. Just in case you missed the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the statistics contained therein merit repeating.
In 2006 alone, 462 children four years of age and younger were killed in motor vehicle crashes and 45,000 more were treated in an emergency department because of injuries sustained in motor vehicle crashes. That the use of child safety seats reduces the risk for death in a crash is indisputable. It’s why child safety seat use is mandatory (no excuses, no exceptions) in every state in the United States and in the District of Columbia. The only variable is the age at which children can transition to adult safety restraints i.e. seat belts.
But like many safety devices, child safety seats work only when they are properly installed and correctly used. In 2006, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) conducted a study of child safety seat use. NHTSA found that 28% of infants under 1 year of age were not placed in rear-facing seats, and 44% of children weighing 20 to 40 pounds were not in forward-facing child seats, despite NHTSA recommendations. It’s estimated that 73% of child safety seats are incorrectly installed or misused. The most common errors being loose harness straps and loose or improper attachment of the child safety seat to the vehicle using the seat-belt or LATCH (lower anchors and tethers for children) system.
If you care for a child under the age of 4 or one weighing less than 40 pounds, please make sure your child safety seat is not among the 73% incorrectly installed or misused. For the latest information on the use of child safety seats visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The life you save may be your child’s!
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