1/17/2008

Dear Editor,

Below is a news release issued by AAA’s National office celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first child occupant protection law and announcing the results of a study regarding parents’ attitudes towards child safety laws.

In addition, here is information/statistics for Washington state:

• In 2006, 11 children under 8 years old were killed in motor vehicle crashes in WA.
• There are 731,348 children under 8 years old in WA (representing the number of children who should be restrained in a car seat/booster seat.)
• There are 256 Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians in WA who are qualified to inspect and teach parents how to properly install their car seat.
• AAA Washington offers car seat inspections at its Bellevue and Spokane offices. To locate a car seat technician near you go to: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cps/cpsfitting
• Washington’s new child safety law, which went into effect June 1, 2007, is one of the strongest in the nation. It states: “A child must be restrained in a child restraint system, if the passenger seating position equipped with a safety belt system allows sufficient space for installation, until the child is eight years old, unless the child is four feet nine inches or taller.”
• The best measurement to determine if a child is ready for an adult seatbelt is if YES is the answer to ALL five of these questions*:

1. Can the child sit all the way back against the vehicle seatback?
2. Do the child's knees bend comfortably at the edge of the vehicle seat?
3. Does the lap belt fit snugly across the top of the thighs, not the abdomen?
4. Does the shoulder part of the belt come across the center of the shoulder and chest, not touching the neck?
5. Can the child sit like this for the whole trip?

*Note: each vehicle has different seat dimensions, so this test must be performed with every vehicle the child rides in.

 

30 Years Later: New Survey Finds Parents Support Child Safety Seat Laws, AAA Says Many Laws Are Still Inadequate

 

AAA Celebrates 30th Anniversary of First Child Occupant Protection Law 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 17, 2008) – Thirty years after the enactment of the nation’s first child safety seat law, a new survey shows parents strongly support child safety seats and child seat laws. Yet nearly 100 children under age 5 die every year in crashes they could have survived if they had been using child safety seats, said AAA in calling for states to close gaps in their child passenger safety laws.

According to a survey released by AAA to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Tennessee’s first-in-the-nation child safety seat law, more than half of all parents (54 percent) look to their state law for guidance on how to restrain their children. While a strong majority (93 percent) of parents surveyed said they are aware of their state’s child restraint laws and most (86 percent) feel that these laws should be consistent across the country, less than half (39 percent) can accurately identify the age at which their state allows a child to ride in an automobile using only a seat belt.

“These results send a clear and powerful message to state legislators across the country,” said Robert L. Darbelnet, president and CEO of AAA. “Parents look to the law to provide guidance about when and how their children should be restrained but, in many cases, the laws are letting them down. State laws vary greatly throughout the U.S. and, although every state has a provision for children under age four, just 18 states and the District of Columbia require children up to the age of 8 or older to be restrained in a booster seat.

“Stronger laws and better education will save additional young lives. State legislators can make this happen,” continued Darbelnet.

AAA released the survey data in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of the first state child passenger safety seat law, which took effect in Tennessee in January 1978. Three decades later, marked progress in child passenger restraint legislation, improvements in car seat technology and the dedicated work of safety advocates are saving the lives of thousands of children each year in the U.S., including an estimated 392 children younger than 5 in 2006. AAA today joined national and local child safety advocates in commemorating 30 years of child passenger safety successes.

“As child seat technology and legislation have evolved over the last three decades, so, too, have parental attitudes toward child passenger safety,” said Darbelnet. “Today, most parents make it a priority to properly restrain their children when driving because of the proven life-saving benefits of car seats.” Yet despite this positive shift in attitudes, more than one-third (35 percent) of children under five who were killed in fatal crashes in 2006 were completely unrestrained. In total, 145 of the 452 children under age 5 who died in crashes were unrestrained.
Thirty years ago, pioneering legislation in Tennessee sparked a movement across our country to protect our most vulnerable passenger population—young children. In the decade after Tennessee enacted its law, all 50 states passed some form of child passenger safety law.

“Most state laws today still fall short of what we know are the best practices, especially for 4-to-8-year-old children who should be riding in booster seats,” said Deborah A.P. Hersman, Member, National Transportation Safety Board.

When examining how parents learn about their state laws, the survey found that only 31 percent of parents said they learned about them from physicians, while 40 percent cited the government as their source of information. Most parents (80 percent) who responded felt that pediatricians and other physicians should educate parents about child restraint laws and the government (73 percent) should also take a more active role in educating parents.

“AAA honors the efforts of all of those who worked tirelessly to improve child passenger safety standards and increase the use of child safety seats over the last three decades. The traffic safety community, however, must continue to push for stronger, consistent legislation in all states and remain committed to educating the public on the importance of child passenger safety,” concluded Darbelnet.

AAA clubs continue to work to enact comprehensive child passenger safety laws protecting children up to the age of 8 in every state. For more information on state child passenger restraint laws, visit www.aaa.com/publicaffairs.

Research for AAA’s child safety restraint survey is based on a national Internet survey of 1,000 parents with children younger than age 8.

Click here for additional national statistics

 

AAA Washington has been serving members and the traveling public since 1904. The organization provides a variety of exclusive benefits, including roadside assistance, discounts, maps and personalized trip planning, to its 980,000 members. In addition, its full-service travel and insurance agencies provide products and services for members and the public. Additional information is available through the company’s 26 offices in Washington and northern Idaho, at www.AAA.com, or by calling 1-800-562-2582.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Contact AAA

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