Child Safety Seats Save Lives

DUNMORE (February 11, 2005) - It’s a cold, hard fact. Motor vehicles crashes are the leading cause of death among children in the United States.

But it’s also true that using child safety seats could reduce serious and fatal injuries by more than half, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).

National Child Passenger Safety Week takes place each year to bring public attention to the safe transportation of children. During the week, which runs from Feb.13 to 19, safety advocates urge parents to review their child’s safety in the family vehicle.
“It takes so little time, yet buckling up saves lives,” said Scott Maciak, PennDOT safety specialist. “Life is precious and nothing’s more precious than the lives of our children.”

PennDOT’s theme for the week is “Life is Precious…Buckle Up!” The week presents an opportunity to educate the community on the proper use of child restraint seats and seat belts. All children should ride in a car seat that is appropriate for their age and size, and all family members should ride properly restrained in seat belts, Maciak said.

“The facts show that lives are saved, but statistics also show that seat belts and child restraint seats reduce the severity of injuries, Maciak said.

Under Pennsylvania’s child passenger safety law, all children from birth up to age 4 must be secured in an approved child safety seat anywhere in the vehicle. All children age 4 to age 8 must be secured in a seat belt system and appropriate child booster seat anywhere in the vehicle. In addition, all children age 8 through 18 must be secured in a seat belt system anywhere in the vehicle. There are penalties for violations of these laws.

According to PennDOT, these safety tips should be followed:

• Always read both the car seat instructions and your vehicle’s owner’s manual before installing a car seat.
• All children under 13 years of age should ride in the back seat.
• When installing a child car seat, place your full weight on the seat. Lock the seat belt according to the vehicle’s instructions on seat belts or in the owner’s manual. Then tug on the base of the car seat. If the seat moves more than one inch when tugged side-to-side or forward, then it is not installed tight enough.
• Infants should always ride in the back seat in reclining rear facing car seats. The reclining part of the seat where the infant’s head rests should always be at a 45-degree angle to prevent the baby’s head from falling forward and cutting off breathing.
• Infants should ride in rear-facing car seats until they weigh 20 pounds AND are one year old. Never place a rear-facing infant seat near a passenger side air bag.
• If using an infant seat, make sure the baby’s harness is through the slots that are at or below the shoulders. Tighten the harness until it lies in a relatively straight line without any slack or sagging, but not so tight as to cause the child discomfort. Always adjust the harness clip so that it is at the child’s armpit level.
• Toddlers can ride in forward-facing and upright car seats when they have reached one year of age AND are over 20 pounds. Children should ride in forward facing car seats with a harness until they are at least 40 pounds. The harness should be placed through the TOP slot on the seat.
• Children who weigh between 40 and 80 pounds and who are up to approximately four feet nine inches tall can ride in a belt-positioning booster seat. If using a belt-positioning booster, use it with a lap/shoulder belt that has been adjusted to fit a small child over the hips and shoulder.
• Children over 80 pounds and adults should always wear a properly positioned seat belt. A properly positioned seat belt means that the shoulder belt is across the shoulder and the lap portion is low and snug across the hips, not the stomach. NEVER place a shoulder belt behind the back or under the arm.

Information on monthly child safety seat inspections may be obtained by contacting local barracks of the Pennsylvania State Police. For additional information on child safety seats, contact the Traffic Injury Prevention Project by calling 1-800-227-2358.

 

Editorial provided by PennDOT’s Northeastern Pennsylvania transportation division.