Making
Road Safety a Way of Life
By Gwenn Schurgin O’Keeffe, MD, FAAP Your Kid’s
Health, The
Salem News February
9, 2004
This week is National Child Passenger Safety
Week. You could likely rattle of many of the
significant points already as most of them are
the basic common-sense safety rules we all learned
as kids for walking, biking and riding in cars
and school buses. But the NHTSA (National Highway
Transportation Safety Administration) puts a
twist on the message that you may not have considered
- to teach our children passenger safety by
being good role models and creating safety "patterns
for life". Here are a few of the key messages
from the campaign that you can find on the National
Highway Transportation Safety Administration
(NHTSA) web site, www.nhtsa.dot.gov:
* "Research shows that child safety seats,
when used correctly, can reduce fatalities among
children less than five years old by 71 percent!
That makes child safety seats one of the most
effective safety innovations ever developed.
Always buckle your children in child safety
seats, and set a pattern for life."
* "If your child is properly buckled in
a child safety seat from birth, she'll grow
up thinking it's only natural to sit in a child
safety seat and wear seat belts on every trip.
They're her best protection from serious injury
or death in the event of a crash. Patterns set
early become patterns for life."
* "Children become pedestrians with their
very first step, and their first mode of transportation
is usually a bicycle. Help set a pattern for
life - teach them to be alert and aware of traffic
when walking, and to always wear a bicycle helmet
when they ride. Patterns set early become patterns
for life."
* "Here's a safety tip we can all live
with. Drivers should be alert to stopped school
buses! More children are killed getting on and
off the bus than riding on one. Red flashing
lights mean that the bus has stopped and children
are getting on or off. YOU MUST STOP and wait
until the red lights stop flashing before proceeding."
Installing car seats properly is not difficult
but not always obvious either. The exact installation
is dependent on not only the car-seat type but
the vehicle type as well. It's essential to
follow the directions carefully and ask for
help if you are unsure. Your local police and
fire stations routinely provide child safety
checks and assistance to those who are interested.
It is also crucial that kids be in the proper
type of seat for their ages and weights. In
addition to the NHTSA webs site the American
Academy of Pediatrics web site has some excellent
information on choosing the correct car seat
for your child. The key points to remember are:
• Check to
be sure the seat you are using is not under
a recall. Updated recall lists can be found
on the consumer product safety commission
web site: www.cpsc.gov.
• Never use a car seat more than 10
years old.
• Any car seat involved in a car crash
should be destroyed and replaced because
unseen damage may have occurred.
• Infants should be rear-facing until
20 pounds AND 1 year of age.
• Infants and children should never
be placed in the passenger's front seat
if an air bag is present.
• For infants and toddlers that have
outgrown infant seats, the next step is
convertible seat that is front facing. There
are different seat belt paths for each position
so be sure to read the directions carefully.
• For older toddlers and preschoolers
under 40 pounds, booster seats are needed
until they can sit in a regular car seat
with the shoulder strap below the neck.
So, remember, safety
is not a job; it is a way of life. Here's
to safe travels.
Making
Road Safety a Way of Life
