Child Safety In Autos

Child safety seats are easier to use according to an annual National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) survey released today. NHTSA rated 92 child safety seats from 14 different manufacturers for 2005.

Clearer labels and instructions accounted for most of the improvements. Improved ratings were also scored for ease of installation, and whether the seats had to be assembled after purchase, or came pre-assembled and ready for use.

"NHTSA’s ‘ease-of-use’ rating program provides parents and caregivers with valuable information that they can use for comparison shopping when buying child safety and booster seats," said NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey Runge, MD. "The program also serves as a powerful incentive to manufacturers to produce safe and effective seats that are simple to use"....

PHILADELPHIA -- The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia announces a new child passenger safety Web site as a holiday gift to parents. Just in time for the hectic and often dangerous holiday travel period, http://www.chop.edu/carseat features short videos and comprehensive information to help parents protect children of all ages when they ride in vehicles - from installing child safety seats to reinforcing safe driving habits for teens.

The new online resource draws on experience from Partners for Child Passenger Safety, a research partnership of Children's Hospital and State Farm® that is the nation's largest study of children in crashes. Since 1997, more than 300,000 State Farm customers have shared their crash experiences with Children's Hospital researchers who are then able to determine the best ways to protect the nation's children and save children's lives.

August 2, 2004: NHTSA Reminds Parents Not to Leave Children Unattended in Vehicles

The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the National SAFE KIDS Campaign today reminded parents and caregivers that leaving children unattended in a motor vehicle can quickly lead to fatal consequences, especially in warm weather. The NHTSA also issued summer safety tips for parents and caregivers.

Young children trapped in a hot, closed vehicle are at particularly great risk on a day that is sunny or humid. Even when the temperature is as mild as 60 degrees Fahrenheit, a closed vehicle can heat to levels that are dangerous for children within a short span of time.

"It's not only parents and caregivers who should be extremely vigilant. Anyone who observes a small child alone in a closed vehicle should contact emergency services immediately," says Martin Eichelberger, M.D., president of the National SAFE KIDS Campaign.

and

June 1, 2004: If You Want Maximum Safety for the Children in Your Car, Look No Further Than

This Antipodean-Scandinavian duo are almost certainly the two world leaders for child safety in cars -- the Aussies because it's a subject they are rightly fanatical about, and the Swedes through Volvo.

During our search for international news items, at DSA, we found an ad, on an independent Australian website, for Volvo's "Safety Manual -- Children in Cars" which you may download here (1Mb pdf.).

Most kids love to sit in the front when Mum or Dad is driving if the passenger seat is empty. But did you know that a child less than 140cm tall (4ft 7in) is too short to sit in a front seat with an airbag? Or that all children should continue to use rear-facing child seats until they are at least three years old?

The Volvo Cars website for Australia has a page on the topic (which isn't on Volvo web sites for some other countries) and it has a brief yet excellent summary of the main safety factors. If you ever convey children, read it here and/or see Child Seats, Airbags, etc., below.

The focus of this event is to ensure that children are properly secured in child safety seats or booster seats that are appropriate for their age and size. Many of the sites will also host a safety fair with educational activities including bike rodeos, in-line skating safety, and fire prevention safety.

One of the early findings of Partners for Child Passenger Safety (PCPS) was that 83% of children between the ages 3 to 8 years were being prematurely graduated to an adult seat belt, rather than using a child safety seat or booster seat. To learn more about PCPS or to view the list of Child Safety Day sites, visit http://www.statefarm.com/kidsafety.htm

May 12, 2004: Child Heatstroke Deaths in Automobiles -- A Greater Danger Than Many May Realize

Between 2002 and 2003, the number of heatstroke deaths among children left unattended in parked vehicles increased by 70 percent. As summer approaches and temperatures rise, a new campaign is underway to help prevent such tragedies.

The National Safe Kids Campaign and General Motors are reaching out to parents and drivers who transport children, telling them to be wary of leaving children alone in parked vehicles. For the first time, education and outreach efforts are also being aimed at the general public. The campaign urges bystanders to seek help if they see small children left unattended in a parked vehicle.

Parked cars are especially dangerous for children because a child's body temperature increases three to five times faster than that of adults -- and their bodies are less able to withstand the heat. So, on a sunny day, even at temperatures as mild as 60 degrees, a closed vehicle can become a very dangerous place for a child in just minutes.

March 25, 2004:

A recently released study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 2,335 children died in car crashes involving drinking drivers between 1997 and 2002. Of those children killed, more than two-thirds were riding in the car with a drinking driver.

In response to these tragic figures, MADD has released its Child Endangerment Report: Every Child Deserves a Designated Driver, outlining weaknesses in state laws and calling for increased penalties and more training and awareness about the problem.

What every child should know if they have no choice but to ride with a driver who has been drinking:

1. Sit in the back seat
2. Buckle-up tight and use your booster seat, if needed
3. Put all of your belongings on the floor
4. Don't bother the driver -- stay quiet
5. Tell a trusted grown-up immediately about any unsafe ride

View MADD's Child Endangerment video (Flash viewer required)

Kids in seats which have airbags fitted can be in immense danger in a collision. 'Kids and Airbags' is the title of a highly informative article by the IIHS that should be compulsory reading for all adults who transport youngsters in their vehicles.

Children are safest if kept in rear-facing car seats until the age of three! Renowned for being at the forefront of car safety, Volvo firmly believes that most of us could improve the safety of the children who travel in our cars.

Some of the facts and advice will be surprising to American and British parents, yet research clearly demonstrates that children are safest if kept in rear-facing car seats until the age of three, when their neck has become strong enough to withstand the strain of the whiplash effect of a front-end collision.

Most Swedish children continue to travel facing backwards much longer than other European youngsters, and the difference in injury and death rates is striking. For example, the risk of a child dying in a car accident in France is twice as high as in Sweden, and German statistics reveal a similar pattern.

Other key information/recommendations in Children in Cars includes:

• Never put a baby or toddler in a rearward-facing seat, or anyone under the height of 4ft 7ins, in the front passenger seat of a car that is fitted with a passenger-side airbag, unless the airbag has been disabled by an authorised dealership

Note the differences between Swedish advice

and USA guidelines

In the USA, the NSC recommends the following safety seat transitions for children:

Children 12 and under ride only in a rear seat, properly restrained.
Infants ride in rear-facing safety seats until they are at least 12 months old and weigh at least 20 pounds.
Children, who are at least 1-year old, weigh 20-40 pounds, and can no longer ride rear-facing must ride in forward-facing child safety seats (see Volvo advice, opposite)
Children more than 40 pounds must be correctly secured in belt positioning boosters or other appropriate child restraints until the vehicle seat cushion length and adult lap and shoulder belts fit correctly (when they are about 4'9" tall).
Once the vehicle seat cushion length and safety belts fit children, both lap and shoulder belts must be correctly used.

Any safety seat must be installed and used according to the manufacturer's instructions and a vehicle owner's manual. For more information, visit www.fitforakid.org or www.nhtsa.gov

(March 2004)

• The importance of restraining a child in a car – not just for its own safety. In the event of a front-end collision, a child weighing 30kg (66 pounds), travelling in a car at 40km/h (25mph) will weigh up to the equivalent of a tonne by the time they hit you in the front – or go through the windscreen
• Booster seats with backrests provide better protection for children aged three or four or above than ones without backrests
Children In Cars is available free to download from www.volvocars.co.uk (Jan. 2004)

Safety standards, for child seats, that parents need to be aware of are LATCH, and ISOFIX. These names may be thought of as interchangeable, but "LATCH" is more commonly used in the USA, and ISOFIX in Europe and elsewhere.

It may well be the case that Australia leads the world in car child-seat design and requirements. If you want to know the most important safety features to look for, to help safeguard you child, read: Protecting Children In Car Crashes -- Lessons From Australia.