Car Seat Inspections Offered Nationwide as Part of Child Passenger Safety Week

From Savannah to Kennesaw, car seat inspections will happen at many points throughout Georgia on Saturday, September 25.

/PRNewswire/ -- Safe Kids USA and its network of coalitions will inspect thousands of child safety seats during Child Passenger Safety Week (September 19-25) by conducting more than 400 car seat checkup events for families and their children across the nation. Nationally certified child passenger safety technicians will lead the inspection events and deliver hands-on education to parents and caregivers throughout the week.

In partnership with the General Motors Foundation since 1997, Safe Kids Buckle Up, the child passenger safety program of Safe Kids USA, has inspected 1.28 million car seats; held approximately 65,000 car seat checkup events around the country; donated more than 457,000 car seats to families in need and educated more than 21 million parents and caregivers.

Research shows that as children age, they are less likely to be in the appropriate child safety seat for their age and weight," said Torine Creppy, Director of Safe Kids USA Buckle Up programs. "Safe Kids USA would like to change that by helping assure that each child in a vehicle is properly protected. Every child deserves to grow up safely, and we are pleased to work through our coalitions at the state and local levels to promote and improve child safety in vehicles during this week."

Safe Kids coalitions will also join the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in activities to support Seat Check Saturday on September 25.

"When it comes to child passenger safety, there is absolutely no room for error. It's critical that parents and caregivers understand how to properly install their child seats in their vehicles," said Administrator David Strickland, U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "We urge parents to visit one of the thousands of seat check sites across the nation to ensure kids are safely buckled up – every trip, every time."

Checkup events will be held in locations convenient for families. Parents and caregivers can locate a Safe Kids Buckle Up checkup event in their community by visiting www.safekids.org.

"General Motors commends the many committed members of the Safe Kids community and their partners who dedicate their time and expertise to improve child safety during this week of focus and throughout the year," said Michael J. Robinson, General Motors vice president of Environment, Energy and Safety Policy.

A 2008 report from NHTSA shows that children from birth to age 1 were in a car seat 99 percent of the time. Children from ages 1-3 were in car seats 92 percent of the time and kids 4-7 were in seats 89 percent of the time. Sadly, as kids get to be between 8-12 they ride in a restraint only 85 percent of the time.

Also according to NHTSA, child safety seats reduce the risk of death for infants (under 1 year old) in a vehicle crash by 71 percent, and reduce the risk to toddlers (1 to 4 years old) by 54 percent. All 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have laws requiring children to be restrained while riding in cars.

Parents and caregivers should follow a few basic guidelines to determine which restraint system is best suited to protect their children in a vehicle:

* For the best possible protection, keep infants in a back seat, in rear-facing child safety seats, as long as possible—up to the height or weight limit of the particular seat. Never turn a child forward-facing before age 1 and at least 20 pounds, although keeping kids rear-facing until at least age 2 is safer and preferred if the seat allows.
* When children outgrow their rear-facing seats, they should ride in forward-facing child safety seats, in a back seat, until they reach the upper weight or height limit of the particular harnessed seat. Many newer seats exceed the old 40 pound weight limit.
* Once children outgrow their forward-facing seats, they should ride in booster seats, in the back seat, until the vehicle seat belts fit properly.
* Seat belts fit properly when the lap belt lays across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt rests on the shoulder or collar bone (usually when the child is between 8 and 12 years old, approximately 4'9" tall and 80 to 100 pounds).

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New Research Shows One of Every Six Drivers in School Zones is Distracted

/PRNewswire/ -- As kids head back to school, new research from Safe Kids USA shows that one out of every six drivers in school zones is distracted by the use of cell phones, eating, drinking, smoking, reaching behind, grooming and reading. The study also found that unbelted drivers are 34 percent more likely to be distracted than belted drivers, afternoon drivers are 22 percent more likely to be distracted than morning drivers, and females are 21 percent more likely to be distracted than males.

The study, "Characteristics of Distracted Drivers in School Zones: A National Report," consisted of more than 40,000 observational road-side surveys conducted by local Safe Kids researchers in 20 locations across the United States. Use of electronics (such as cell phones, PDAs and Smartphones) was the leading category of distraction while driving at 9.8 percent. This is a 2.5 percent increase over a 2008 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration survey that showed a rate of 7.3 percent.

"The public expects drivers to be on their best behavior when they are near schools, however the new study shows the opposite is true when it comes to distracted driving," said Moira Donahue, Director of the Walk This Way program, Safe Kids' pedestrian safety program. "With recent research demonstrating that the driving skills of a distracted driver are as bad as or worse than an intoxicated driver, the overall relevance of this study is clear. Almost one in six drivers in a school zone behaves like a drunk driver."

The finding that afternoon drivers are 22 percent more likely to be distracted is significant because throughout the year one in three child pedestrian deaths occur between 3 and 7 p.m., making afternoons the most dangerous time for children to walk. Drivers who were not wearing a seat belt were the most likely group in the study to also be driving distracted, meaning drivers engaging in one risky behavior are more likely to engage in multiple unsafe driving behaviors.

While the debate over laws governing hand-held electronic device use while driving continues, simply having a law on the books may somewhat decrease the prevalence of distracted driving. The study, which covered communities in 15 states showed that those states with laws regulating cell phone or hand-held electronic device use in a vehicle are 13 percent less likely to have distracted drivers in school zones.

"Multitasking while driving can have deadly consequences," said Donahue. "Drivers need to shut off their phones and pay attention to the road, especially in areas that are filled with children."

Safe Kids Walk This Way, a grassroots pedestrian safety initiative in more than 600 schools nationwide, is made possible through support from program sponsor FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX) . Through this year-round program, children learn safe pedestrian behaviors; school communities identify the pedestrian hazards surrounding their schools; and school pedestrian safety committees and task forces lead efforts to educate pedestrians and drivers about safe behaviors, enforce traffic laws and improve environments for child pedestrians. The study on distracted drivers in school zones was made possible through a grant from FedEx.

For more information about the new report on distracted drivers, tips for drivers and pedestrians or background on the Walk This Way program, call 202-662-0600 or visit www.usa.safekids.org/wtw/.

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