Child Safety Blog

The Chicago Tribune uncovered federal safety test results of infant car seats that were never publicized or even made known to some of the infant-seat manufacturers, reported Chicago Tribune’s Patricia Callahan. In the frontal crash tests, a video showed the car seats flying off their bases, throwing baby dummies face-first into the back of the driver’s seat. The test reports also documented that almost half of the 66 seats that were tested in front crashes “either separated from their bases or exceeded injury limits.”

As a result of the Chicago Tribune’s investigations, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has ordered a thorough review of safety regulations for car seats and taken steps to make the safety test results more available to consumers. Before, parents could compare safety ratings for cars, but would have no way of comparing which car seats do better at protecting their babies. They would not have known that more expensive car seats are not necessarily safer, or that some smaller cars performed better than the larger ones in these collision tests.

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Posted In: Cars , Infant Mortality , Infants , Product Liability

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The most recent issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons has a study on teenagers' attitudes to trauma-related injuries from car crashes, showing that most of them have a "sense of invincibility and focus on fate rather than choice."

These attitudes are dangerous because, while everyone knows about the impact of drugs and alcohol on people's behavior, false beliefs can often be just as harmful as drinking too much. From the article:

researchers say existing injury prevention initiatives often fall short of countering flawed beliefs and must better demonstrate - especially to teens - how and why their young age puts them at greater risk for injury.

"Students need to comprehend that it is lack of judgment, not only lack of skill, that increases the risk of injury to one's self and others. 'Not wanting something bad to happen' is simply not enough," said Najma Ahmed, MD, PhD, FACS, assistant trauma director, St. Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto. "In addition to giving teens the knowledge and teaching them the technical skills, injury prevention programs must also address teens' attitudes about being immune to illness and death as a means of changing high-risk behaviors, such as driving while impaired."

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Posted In: Cars , Education

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A new study from the University of Arkansas and Arkansas Children's Hospital shows that all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) pose a significant risk to children, according to the lead doctor involved in the research. An ATV is defined as any motorized vehicle with four low-pressure tires, handlebars for steering and control and a seat meant to be straddled by the operator.

The doctors studied 500 minors who came to the Children's Hospital over a period of eight years, all of whom were involved in ATV accidents. Of these five hundred, there were six fatalities (not counting those who died at the accident site, rather than at the hospital). More common were long-term disabilities and severe injuries.

The National Safety Council has a list of recommendations for ATV safety. Among these are restrictions regarding age and engine size, as well as a stern warning against multiple riders in an ATV. Another good resource is the ATV Safety Institute.

Posted by Patrick A. Malone | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Cars , Product Liability

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Everyone knows small children should be in car seats, but many people forget one important detail: the car seats should be correctly installed, or their effectiveness diminishes greatly.

The police department in Roanoke, Virginia recently offered inspections of car seats, with the aid of Liberty Mutual Insurance. Such inspection services are becoming more common as people begin to be aware of the importance of not only using car seats, but using them correctly.

Here are some general tips to keep in mind about car seats:

-Reading all the instructions in the car seat manual is a must.

-Be careful that your child is not too big or too small for the seat. Do not put a newborn baby in a seat meant for larger children. It can also be dangerous to squeeze a child into a seat that is too small.

-Booster seats and combination seats are available for older children, who may be too small for regular adult seat belts until they are as old as eight.

-If your child is less than 1 year old and weighs less than 20 pounds, do not put him or her in a seat facing forward.

Other articles and resources to look at for information:

Safe Kids Worldwide: Preventing Injuries to Children in Motor Vehicle Crashes

Most car seats are used incorrectly

Four out of ten kids use car booster seats

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Posted In: Cars

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Virginia has passed stricter regulatory measures regarding children in cars. Starting on July 1st 2007, all children eight and younger must be secured by a child restraint device. Previously the law had only applied to children five and younger.

Furthermore, Virginia has banned drivers under 18 from using telecommunications devices, including cell phones, while driving.

More about this legislation can be found at eMaxHealth.

The ban on minors using cell phones is in keeping with laws in other states restricting cell phone use in cars and is much more lenient than many of them--for instance, an Oklahoma legislator wants mandatory jail sentencing for all crashes related to cellphone talk, as reported in the Ada Evening News.

The requirement that eight-year-olds be in special child restraints while in cars seems draconian at first glance. The silver lining is that it indicates an increased attention to car safety for children.

Posted by Patrick A. Malone | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Cars , Legislation

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A jury in Montana returned with a $10.4 million verdict against a car-seat manufacturing company named Evenflo Co. Inc., holding that Evenflo was liable in the death of a four-and-a-half-month-old infant in 2000. The baby was in one of Evenflo's car-seats at the time of its death in a car accident.

Details of the case can be found in the Kansas City Business Journal or the Chicago Tribune.

The important facts to take away from this case are the following: firstly, that energy-absorbent foam padding can be vital to car-seat safety, especially around the child's head. Secondly, the hooks that hold the car-seat in place must be sturdy and not prone to breaking off, as the Evenflo hooks were.

Evenflo continues to deny liability and will appeal the ruling, but whatever the outcome, these general concepts about car-seats may be helpful to keep in mind.

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Posted In: Cars , Legislation

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Leaving a small child in a hot car for a long period of time can be dangerous to his or her health, and possibly even fatal. The Kalamazoo Gazettehas some details on this topic.

This has been an area of growing concern for parents and child safety advocates. It is important not to become overly paranoid about it, as 340 children have died in this manner in the last decade--a disturbing number to be sure, but hardly a cause for the sort of hysteria that safety issues sometimes generate.

Yet awareness about the issue is nevertheless important. Parents should not leave their children locked in a car unless some emergency absolutely requires it. This is especially true in the hot summer months.

The Chambersburg Public Opinion has more details on these dangers, including statistics and suggestions. For instance, remember that children's bodies heat up three to five times faster than adults', that cars heat up much faster than you might think (even with the windows down) and that it is important to take a few seconds to check the back of the car before walking away from it. The Houston Chronicle has a good description of how such tragedies can happen even to children with loving, caring parents--one moment of forgetfulness is all that is required.

Posted by Patrick A. Malone | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Cars

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