Older Children Less Likely to be Restrained in Seat Belts According to New Report; Child Passenger Safety Experts Release New Recommendations To Combat Leading Cause of Death Among Children -- Traffic Crashes

9/29/2003

From: John Chambers, 202-338-8700 or 202-285-0448 (cell) for the 2003 Child Passenger Safety Summit

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 -- Older children (ages 8 through 15) who have outgrown their booster seats are less likely to be properly restrained in seat belts, are being placed in the front seat at alarming rates, and are experiencing high fatality rates, according to a new report issued today by a group of safety organizations.

"These children are needlessly at risk," said Philip Haseltine, President, Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety and Co-Moderator of the 2003 Child Passenger Safety Summit. "Most child passenger safety programs target infants, toddlers and booster-sized children, but few, if any, focus on the pre-teen through driver licensing age group. Its clear that we need to develop effective programs to get older children properly restrained."

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), fewer than 30 percent of all infants killed in crashes in 2000 were unrestrained, yet more than 70 percent of fatally injured 12- year-olds were not restrained. Moreover, a recent observational survey by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign found that restraint non-use was 4 percent for infants and 10 percent for children ages 1-4, but 20 percent for children ages 5-9, and 24 percent for children ages 10-14.

The Report is the product of the 2003 Child Passenger Safety Summit, which issued several recommendations to combat the leading cause of death among children -- traffic crashes. The panel developed these recommendations based on the most recent crash, injury, and exposure data as well as existing and predicted products, resources, and funding capacities. The Child Passenger Safety Summit convened 36 child passenger safety experts representing industry, government, advocacy and research organizations in June 2003.

One key recommendation cited the need for improving the safety of children involved in side impact crashes. Currently, child restraints are tested for frontal crashes only and no side impact test dummies representing children presently exist.

"Children, even in restraints, incur serious and fatal injuries in side impact crashes," said Flaura Winston, MD, Ph.D., Director, TraumaLink, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "We need to create a safe vehicle environment for children but a significant investment in child-focused research and development is needed to inform vehicle technology."

The report also highlighted the need for effective education programs to keep children out of the front seat and to keep infants properly restrained in rear-facing child safety seats longer.

According to the NHTSA, parents are putting 15 percent of infants, 10 percent of toddlers ages 1-3, and 29 percent of children ages 4-7 in the front seat, placing them at increased risk of serious injury or even death. And despite the significant decline in infant fatalities over the past several years, recent NHTSA data indicate that an astonishing two-thirds of infants are riding forward facing.

The report also found that minority children and other underserved populations, including rural and low-income communities, experienced lower restraint use and higher fatality rates.

"Child passenger safety has come a long way in the last ten years, but traffic crashes are still the leading cause of death to children," said Haseltine. "The collective wisdom and experience of the participants of the Summit have helped create a road map to closing the gaps that put children at risk of injury and death in vehicle crashes."

Current best practices for children riding in motor vehicles are:

-- Infants should be in a rear-facing safety seat until they have reached at least one year of age and weigh at least 20 pounds (in a safety seat that accommodates higher rear-facing weights, the child should remain rear-facing until reaching the maximum weight for the safety seat);

-- Children who are least one year of age, weigh 20-40 pounds, and can no longer ride rear-facing should ride in forward facing child safety seats.

-- Children who have exceeded the height or weight limit for their forward-facing safety seat should be properly restrained in a belt-positioning booster seat until the safety belt fits correctly;

-- Children should be in a properly adjusted safety belt when the shoulder belt can be positioned across the chest with the lap belt low and snug across the thighs;

-- All children age 12 and under should ride in a rear seat.