Showing posts with label child passenger safety. Show all posts

Have Trouble Installing Your Child's Safety Seat? You're Not Alone...

Posted by Unknown in , , , , on Tuesday, February 25, 2014

If you have young kids, you know how important it is to keep them safe on the roads, whether as pedestrians, cyclists, or passengers. All too often, however, parents and caregivers may not know how to protect their littlest traveling companions in the most effective way. Between 1994 and 2010, roughly one-third to one-half of all children ages eight and under who were killed in motor vehicle crashes were completely unrestrained, and one-fifth to one-quarter were incorrectly restrained by only a standard seatbelt. 

To promote correct and consistent use of approved child safety seats, the Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren (LATCH) system has been required equipment on all new vehicles since 2002. However, in the 10+ years since its inception, concerns have persisted about its ease of use, and the variations in its implementation across vehicle types and brands. In fact, our latest report, a survey of certified child passenger safety (CPS) technicians, finds that 80.5% of these experts believe errors using LATCH are not obvious to parents and caregivers, and less than half think users are more likely to correctly install a seat with LATCH than with a standard seatbelt.


We've been studying LATCH for a year now, with the goal of informing Federal updates to the rules that govern the system. In addition to the survey, our project included human factors analyses and an expert panel workshop, all designed to offer practical recommendations for improving LATCH. Among other things, these include making LATCH available in rear center seats, increasing and standardizing weight limits, and improving labeling and other information in vehicles, on seats, and in owner's manuals. 

With a high number of CPS technicians reporting that they frequently encounter potentially-serious LATCH-use errors (83.9%, for example, say they often or occasionally see caregivers using LATCH with a seatbelt), it's clear there is more work to be done in this area. And with 640 children ages eight and under killed each year in motor vehicle crashes in the United States, getting this work done could hardly be more urgent.

For details about this project and our other research, please visit traffic-payout.org. 

No Comments

Is Your Child Safe In Their Car Seat?

Posted by Unknown in , , , , , on Monday, August 20, 2012


Proper installation for a child under 2
Every day, two children under the age of 12 die in car crashes and 325 are injured.  A recent study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine  found that car crashes are the leading cause of death in kids over age 3 in the U.S., yet many parents still don't know how to properly install car seats or know the age guidelines for booster seats.

Requiring that children travel in proper restraints reduces the risk of fatality and injury so much that each U.S. state and territory has adopted its own regulations on child safety seats.  Although most parents understand that babies must travel in child safety seats, varying state regulations can create some confusion.  According to AAA polling, only 39 percent of parents know the specific rules in their states.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, which updated their child passenger safety guidelines in 2011:
  • Children should remain in child safety or booster seats until they are at least 4’9”, the minimum height for using standard seat belts
  • Rear-facing car safety seat (CSS) for kids until they are 2 years of age or until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by the manufacturer of their CSS.
  • All kids 2 years or older, or those younger than 2 years who have outgrown the rear-facing weight or height limit for their CSS, should use a forward-facing CSS with a harness for as long as possible, up to the highest weight or height allowed by the manufacturer of their CSS.
  • Back seat riding with seat belt until age 13
Don’t forget to check the expiration dates on the child safety seats you’re using, too.  Exposure to sun, cold, and heat, as well as general wear and tear, degrade the plastic and foam in the seats, so they begin to lose their effectiveness. 

No Comments