U.S. Transportation Secretary Slater Launches Memorial Day National Effort To Enforce Seat Belt, Child Seat Laws |
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Topics: Rodney E. Slater
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NHTSA
May 22, 2000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NHTSA 20-00
Monday, May 22, 2000
Contact: NHTSA, Cathy Hickey, (202) 366-9550
With the Memorial Day weekend approaching, U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater today was joined by national and local leaders in launching the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign's sixth "Operation ABC (America Buckles Children) Mobilization," a nationwide effort to enforce child passenger and seat belt laws.
"Seat belts and child safety seats are the greatest protection in the event of a crash. Parent also need to take responsibility to buckle up their children in the back seat on absolutely every trip, U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater said. "Highly visible efforts like this campaign have done much to prevent injury and improve safety, which is the top transportation priority of the Clinton-Gore Administration."
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), seat belts reduce the risk of fatal injury by 45 percent and reduce the risk of serious injury by 50 percent, yet nearly one-third of all Americans still do not buckle up. Child safety seats reduce the risk of death by 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for children ages 1 to 4. Child safety seats each year save the lives of more than 300 children 4 years old and younger, and seat belts save more than 10,000 lives in America each year.
Since the Mobilizations began in 1996, child restraint use among children ages 4 and younger has increased and deaths among children 4 and younger dropped 12 percent from 1996 to 1998. But restraint use among older children has not increased as dramatically. For children ages 5 to 15, NHTSA said that one out of three children routinely rides unbuckled and that fatalities among this age group have not decreased.
"While we are encouraged with the reduction in the number of child fatalities, our work is not done," said NHTSA Deputy Administrator Rosalyn G. Millman.
According to NHTSA, all 50 states have laws requiring that children in passenger cars be restrained. However, the laws vary widely from state to state and many have gaps - they do not cover children of all ages or do not apply to children in the back seat. In addition, most state laws only require children up to age 3 or 4 to be restrained in a child safety seat, when in fact, older children up to 80 pounds (approximately 8 years old) should be in a belt positioning booster seat with an adult lap and shoulder belt.
Children using poorly fitting adult belts can suffer serious internal injuries in a crash. They also risk slipping out of the belts altogether and being ejected from the vehicle. NHTSA surveys show that less than seven percent of booster seat-sized children are using them.
In February, to increase booster seat use, NHTSA launched the "Don't Skip a Step" booster seat education campaign. The campaign materials educate parents not to skip any step as their children grow: beginning with rear-facing infant seats and progressing to forward-facing child safety seats, booster seats, and an adult belt in the back seat. After the age of 13, a child is usually large enough to sit in the front seat in an adult lap and shoulder belt.
As part of the "Don't Skip a Step" campaign, NHTSA distributed more than 50,000 campaign brochures to enlist the support of child safety advocates, health care providers, law enforcement personnel and others to help spread the booster seat safety message across the country.
As part of a national strategy to increase seat belt use President Clinton in 1997 set a goal to increase seat belt use to 85 percent by the end of 2000 and 90 percent by 2005, and to reduce child fatalities 15 percent by 2000 and 25 percent by 2005.
The Operation ABC Mobilizations are sponsored by the Air Bag and Seat Belt Safety Campaign, a public/private partnership of automotive manufacturers, insurance companies, child safety seat manufacturers, occupant restraint manufacturers, government agencies, health professionals and child health and safety organizations. The goal of the campaign is to increase the proper use of safety belts and child safety seats and to inform the public about how to maximize the lifesaving capabilities of air bags while minimizing the risks.
This year's mobilization will be the largest ever, with more than 7,000 law enforcement agencies conducting highly visible activities to enforce child safety seat and seat belt laws and educate motorists on the importance of seat belt use. Additional information on child safety seats, booster seats and seat belts is available on the NHTSA web site at www.nhtsa.dot.gov.