Governor Proclaims Child Passenger
Safety Week
Week to Highlight
Importance of Booster Seats in Saving Children's Lives
JEFFERSON CITY - Governor
Matt Blunt signed a proclamation proclaiming February 13-19, 2005
as Child Passenger Safety Week in recognition of every child's
right to adequate protection when being transported in a motor
vehicle.
Motor vehicle crashes are
the leading cause of death for children ages two through 14. In
Missouri, 21 children under the age of nine were killed and 2,364
were injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2003. Sadly, many of
these children were not restrained in the vehicle by a child safety
seat or a booster seat.
"While 94 percent of America's
toddlers are now regularly restrained, not enough kids ages four
to eight are properly and safely restrained. Only 10-20 percent
of kids ages four to eight who should be using booster seats to
protect them are actually in them," stated Scott Turner, program
administrator for the Missouri Department of Transportation's
Highway Safety Division. "This puts children at an unnecessary
risk of being injured or killed in crashes because they are simply
in the wrong restraint for their size."
Moving a child to a safety
belt too early greatly increases risk of injury. Children ages
two to five who are prematurely graduated to safety belts are
four times more likely to suffer serious head injuries in a crash
than those restrained in child safety seats or booster seats.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), the appropriate restraint device changes depending on
a child's age, height and weight.
NHTSA recommends using
several types of restraints to protect a child at each stage of
development.
The 4 Steps for Kids
are:
• Rear-facing
infant seats in the back seat from birth to at least one year
old and at least 20 pounds.
• Forward-facing
toddler seats in the back seat from age one and 20 pounds to about
age four and 40 pounds.
• Booster seats
in the back seat from about age four and 40 pounds to at least
age eight, unless 4'9" tall.
• Safety belts
for children eight and above or taller than 4'9". All children
12 and under should ride in the back seat.
Even parents who are strict
about always restraining children might be failing to use safety
seats and safety belts correctly. When installing a child safety
seat, adults should read the safety seat and vehicle instructions
carefully. The most common misuses are as follows: 1) not having
the safety seat buckled in the vehicle tightly enough or not buckled
in at all; 2) harness straps too loose; 3) using the wrong safety
seat for the size of the child; and 4) not using booster seats
for children over four years of age.
To make sure your child
safety seat is properly installed, parents and caregivers should
locate a certified child passenger safety technician in their
area. The technician will work with them to correctly install
the child safety seat at no cost. A list of technicians can
be found at www.nhtsa.dot.gov
or by calling MoDOT's Highway Safety Division at 1-800-800-BELT.
