Even as new National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) research shows fewer children died in roadway crashes in the last year, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is urging parents to use an appropriate child restraint or booster seat.
NHTSA's 2009 child fatality data found that motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death last year for young people ages three to 14. In 2009, an average of four children age 14 and younger were killed and 490 were injured every day.
"Make no mistake about it: child safety seats save lives," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Children who graduate too soon from their safety seats are at risk of serious injury. Parents and caregivers should ensure that safety seats are installed correctly and should always use them. Their children depend on it."
Inspections encouraged
During Child Passenger Safety Week, September 19 to 25, DOT is encouraging parents and caregivers to have their child safety seats checked at one of the thousands of free safety seat inspection stations set up across the country. The week-long effort culminates in National Seat Check Saturday on September 25, during which English- and Spanish-speaking child passenger safety technicians will be available to answer questions and provide help with child safety seat installation.
"We're urging everyone to get their children's safety seats inspected to make sure their kids are properly protected on every trip, every time," said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. "When it comes to child passenger safety, there is absolutely no room for error."
Making adjustments
After children outgrow their forward-facing seats, usually around age four and 40 pounds, they should ride in booster seats until the seat belts in the vehicle fit properly. Seat belts fit properly when the lap belt lies across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt fits across the chest -- usually at age eight or when a child is 4'9" tall.
A new NHTSA survey on booster seat use found that just 41 percent of four- to seven-year-old children ride in booster seats, virtually the same as the prior year.
Restraint use for children age one-to-three years increased from 92 percent in 2008 to 96 percent in 2009, while restraint use for all children under age 13 was unchanged at 89 percent.
Injury prevention
Other NHTSA research on the effects of early graduation from child safety seats to booster seats for children ages three-to-four found a significantly lower injury risk for the children in safety seats than for those in booster seats. Staying in a booster seat rather than an early graduation to adult belts for child passengers age four-to-eight likewise resulted in significantly fewer injuries.
All 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have laws requiring the use of safety seats for young children traveling in automobiles. Also, 47 states have laws requiring booster seat use.
