Jan.
30, 2004
‘The
Year of the Booster Seat’
MGHS EMS Department stresses safety in
observance of National Child Passenger Safety Week
Marquette
General Health System’s Emergency Medical Services
(EMS) Department reminds everyone that making sure young
children are properly restrained in their vehicles is the
focus of this year’s National Child Passenger Safety
Week, which runs from Feb. 8-14. |
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The theme
for the 2004 campaign is “The Year of the Booster
Seat.” This
message will be reinforced through an unprecedented nationwide campaign in
conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the
Ad Council. This will include getting the message out on television, radio
and the print media.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)’s recommendation
regarding children and car seats remains strong: Keep them in an approved safety
seat until they reach age 8. That is the age when standard vehicle safety seat
belts begin to fit properly.
Once a child outgrows their toddler/convertible seats at around age 3, it is
imperative that they then advance to a belt-positioning booster seat. Research
shows that more than one-half of children killed in auto crashes in the year
2000 were completely unrestrained.
Using age-appropriate child safety seats, including booster seats, provides
the best protection in the case of a crash.
This story highlights the importance of proper child restraint. In August 1998,
Krista Baker and her three sons were involved in a crash that totaled their
car. Only months earlier, Krista received some life-saving advice: technicians
at a child safety seat checkup told her that Zachary, her 4-year-old son, should
be riding in a booster seat and using it along with an adult lap and shoulder
belt. This simple tip may have saved Zachary’s life as he escaped the
crash virtually unharmed.
Unfortunately, Autumn Alexander Skeen did not know the importance of booster
seats until it was too late. In 1996, while visiting family in Yakima, Wash.,
Skeen and her 4-year-old son, Anton, were both buckled into a sport utility
vehicle using a standard lap and shoulder seat belt. Autumn Skeen was distracted
and lost control of the vehicle. The crash caused Anton’s small body
to slip from the seat belt and he was thrown from the vehicle as it rolled
over. Anton was killed instantly.
Skeen thought she was doing the right thing by simply buckling Anton in. What
she now knows, but what most parents don’t realize, is that once children
outgrow their convertible child safety seats, they need to be put in booster
seats until the seat belt system designed for adults fits them correctly.
Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for children of every age from
2-14 years, due in part to the fact that most kids are unbuckled or improperly
restrained in vehicles. From birth to age 1, restraint use is 97 percent; for
ages 1-4, it is 91 percent; for ages 5-15, restraint use falls to 68.7 percent.
More than 47 percent of fatally injured children ages 4 to 7 are completely
unrestrained. One NHTSA study showed that only 6.1 percent of booster-aged
children were restrained in a booster seat. NHTSA recommends that all children
ages 12 and younger ride in the back, properly restrained at all times.
Child safety seats, including boosters, are very effective in keeping kids
safe. Parents should use boosters for children once they outgrow forward-facing
child safety seats at about 40 pounds and around 4 years old. They should continue
to use booster seats until children are 4-feet, 9-inches tall and about 80
pounds.
Parents should have child safety seats inspected by one of a number of certified
and trained technicians in their community to make sure they are installed
correctly.
For more information on booster seats or to locate a child safety
seat technician near you, simply call 1-800-424-9393.
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