| Feb.
6, 2006
UPCPS
Coalition reminds parents of importance of booster seats
Valentine’s Week to Focus on Child Passenger Safety
Every year
children suffer needless injury.
According to a study by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
(CHOP), children ages 4 to 8 who use booster seats are 59 percent
less likely to be injured in a car crash than children who are
restrained only by a safety belt. And, the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that motor vehicle traffic
crashes were the leading cause of death for every age 3 through
33.
Research shows that drivers who use seat belts are more likely
to assure their children are restrained. In fact, 92 percent of
children transported by belted drivers are restrained, compared
to only 62 percent transported by unbelted drivers.
That’s why the Upper Peninsula Child Passenger Safety (UPCPS)
Coalition, a group of several safety-minded agencies throughout
the U.P., is joining with NHTSA, the Ad Council and others around
Valentine’s Day this year to commemorate Child Passenger
Safety Week (Feb. 12-18). The primary goal of Child Passenger
Safety Week is to remind all parents and other adults responsible
for children traveling in motor vehicles (particularly those children
under 4-feet, 9-inches tall) they need to be in a booster seat.
An estimated 10 to 20 percent of children ages 4 to 8 use booster
seats.
Marquette General Hospital paramedic Gary Gustafson of the UP
CPS Coalition said that as children grow, how they sit safely
in a car, truck, van or SUV changes. For maximum child passenger
safety, parents and caregivers simply need to follow the 4 Steps
for Kids:
Use rear-facing infant seats in the back seat from birth to at
least 1 year of age and at least 20 pounds
Use forward-facing toddler seats in the back seat from age 1 and
20 pounds to about age 4 and 40 pounds
Use booster seats in the back seat from about age 4 to at least
age 8 (unless the child is 4-feet, 9-inches or taller; and
Use safety belts in the back seat at age 8 or older or taller
than 4-9.
All children
under age 13, Gustafson noted, should ride in the back seat.
“Many parents are under the false impression that children
who have outgrown child safety seats can move right into regular
safety belts. However, nothing could be further from the truth,”
Gustafson said. “So, this year on Valentine’s Day,
and during Child Passenger Safety Week, we are reminding all parents,
grandparents and child care providers to use booster seats to
raise their kids to the right height in the car. If they’re
under 4-feet, 9-inches tall, put them in a booster seat.”
Some parents or caregivers may regard booster seats as a hassle
to use or difficult to convince their children to use. Gustafson
said, however, that protecting loved ones means getting past the
temporary complaints and perceived hassles.
“Use a booster seat because you love them. Do it because
it could save their life,” he said.
NHTSA and the Ad Council have launched new public service announcements
to inform parents of young children that booster seats are the
critical (but often forgotten) step needed between car seats and
regular safety belts. The campaign includes new television, radio,
print, outdoor and online PSAs.
The new PSAs promote the following booster seat message: “Raise
your children right. If they’re under 4-9, put them in a
booster seat.”
For more information about Child Passenger Safety Week and the
proper use of booster seats, visit www.boosterseat.gov.
The UPCPS Coalition is a collaborative effort of Safe-Kids Worldwide-Marquette/Alger
Chapter, Marquette General Health System, Rampart EMS-Escanaba,
Family Independence Agency-Escanaba, Delta/Menominee Public Health
Department, Portage Health System in Hancock, the Marquette County
Sheriff’s Department, Office of Highway Safety Planning
(OHSP)-UP Regional Office, Keweenaw Memorial Medical Center, and
the Marquette County Health Department.
For more information about the UPCPS Coalition, call Gustafson
at 225-4615 or email him at ggustafson@mgh.org.
|
