As the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) releases its new 'Ease of Use' child passenger safety seat ratings system parents and caregivers still need to consider obtaining child safety seat inspections. These inspections remain an important part of keeping children safe in motor vehicles. To help parents and caregivers more easily find a safety seat inspection location, Chrysler Group along with NHTSA and other safety partners provides SeatCheck. SeatCheck is a program dedicated exclusively to directing parents to local safety seat inspection resources, including a Web site (www.SeatCheck.org ) and a toll-free hotline (1-866-Seat-Check).
Child safety seat inspections are important. Ninety-seven percent of parents surveyed said they were comfortable that they always use and install their children's safety seats correctly. (1) However, NHTSA empirical studies show that at least 80 percent of child safety seats are incorrectly installed and used. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), each day that puts 10 million children riding in vehicles at risk of serious injury or death in the event of a crash.
In addition to recommending that parents have their children's safety seats inspected by a certified child safety seat inspector, safety experts, including the National Safety Council (NSC), NHTSA and the American Academy of Pediatrics, recommend the following safety seat transitions for children:
Rear-facing infant seats from birth to at least 20 pounds and at least 1 year old.
Convertible, forward-facing seats for children at least 1 year old and from more than 20 to about 40 pounds.
Belt-positioning booster seats for all children who have outgrown child safety seats until they are at least 8 years old, unless they are 4'9", at which point they should be large enough to properly fit in a regular seat belt system.
Seat belts for older children who are large enough for the belt to fit them correctly. Children should be able to sit with their back against the vehicle's seat back, the shoulder belt over the shoulder, the lap belt low on the hips and the knees bent over the vehicle seat.
(1) The national telephone survey, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies of Alexandria, Va., was of 500 adult drivers who transport children 8 years of age or younger at least twice a week. The survey was conducted January 26-28, 2002. The sample was drawn proportional to the number of adults in each state, with a margin of error of +/- 4.38% at the 95% confidence interval.
