September 2004
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Buckle up for safety: Important as ever for children
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There's good news and bad news.
According the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nation-wide rates of use of child safety restraints in vehicles are higher than ever.
On the flip side, however, improper use of these safety devices continues
to be high.
NHTSA studies found that 72.6 percent of all child restraints are improperly
used. This misuse needlessly exposes children to an increased risk of
death or injury, should a car crash occur. Unbelievably, almost 12 percent
of children are completely unrestrained, according to NHTSA.
In Harris County/Houston in 1999-2000, statistics show that a staggering nine percent of children under the age of one were completely unrestrained, and that number continues to grow as children get older. Twenty-two percent of children between the ages of seven and 15 were completely unrestrained.
Common misuses of child safety restraints include:
- Age and weight appropriateness
- Direction
- Placement in relation to air bags
- Installation and secureness of child safety restraints to the vehicle seat (tight safety belt) secureness/tightness of harness straps and crotch strap
- Use of locking clip for certain vehicle safety belts
- Fit of vehicle safety belts across child in belt-positioning booster seat
- Defective or broken CRS elements
The following chart gives appropriate uses of child safety restraints for infants, toddlers, and young children. It is important to remember that all children aged 12 and under are advised to sit in the back seat and remain buckled into their safety restraints at all times.
Proper Child Safety Seat Use Chart
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| INFANTS | TODDLER | YOUNG CHILDREN | |
| WEIGHT | Birth to 1 year | at least 20-22 lbs. Over 1 year and |
Over 20 lbs.-40 lbs. Over 40 lbs. |
| TYPE of SEAT | Infant only or rear-facing convertible | Convertible / Forward-facing | Belt positioning booster seat |
| SEAT POSITION | Rear-facing only | Forward-facing | Forward-facing |
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