1. Selecting
a car safety seat for the child's individual needs
2. Positioning and
Securing the child in the car safety seat following the manufacturer's
instructions
3. Installing
the car safety seat correctly in the vehicle following both the car
seat instructions and the car owner's manual
Tweens are Riding at Risk
Tweens, children eight to twelve years old, are dying in car crashes at a rate of more than one a day. Nearly half of the tweens killed in car crashes in this country each year were riding unrestrained and one third were riding in a front seat. The older children get, the less likely they are to use safety belts or to sit in the back seat.
The Backseat is Better
Children are 40% more likely to be injured in a front seat than in back (Source: Partners for Child Passenger Safety). Over half of all crashes involve the front of the vehicle; so all passengers are safer in the backseat.
If it’s not the law, why is it important?
It is best to keep children in harnessed safety seats until they outgrow
them by height or weight. Seatbelts are designed to fit and protect adults
and most do not fit or protect young children well. Poorly fitting seatbelts
can cause serious injuries and even death. The American Academy of Pediatrics
(AAP) recommends that vehicle safety belts should not be used until the
shoulder belt can be positioned across the chest with the lap belt low
and across the thighs; the child should fit against the vehicle’s
seat back with his or her feet hanging down when the legs are bent at
the knees. A belt-positioning booster seat should be used until the vehicle
safety belt fits well, as explained by the five step test.
Front seat airbags can cause serious injury or death if children sit too close to them or if they’re not buckled in properly. The “safe zone” for air bags is at least ten inches between the driver and steering wheel and fourteen inches between the front seat passenger and dashboard.
Restraint Use
Car safety seats with five point harness straps should be used for tweens who are less than forty pounds or who don’t sit still when wearing a shoulder belt. Most front facing car seat harnesses have forty pound weight limits but some models will go as high as 130 pounds. Some children will get too tall for their car seats before they reach the weight limit, so always check the directions.
Belt-positioning booster seats are best for most children who have reached the weight or height limits on their harnessed car safety seats. A booster seat has no harness straps and lifts a child to allow the adult lap/shoulder belt to fit correctly. It is important to always use a shoulder belt with a belt-positioning booster seat. Belt-positioning boosters may not give enough support for some children who have limited head, neck, or trunk control or who have trouble staying seated properly.
Large medical seats or travel safety vests may be options for these children. Medical seats have weight limits up to 130 pounds and safety vests up to 160 pounds.
Children are usually about four feet and nine inches tall before seatbelts fit them correctly without a booster seat. Try the five-step test to be sure:
It’s important for children who are ready for seatbelts alone to use both a lap and shoulder belt. The shoulder belt adds upper body protection to help prevent head, neck, spinal and abdominal injuries.
It’s best to consult the child’s medical professional and a certified child passenger safety technician (cpst) to choose the best restraint for each child. To find a child passenger safety technician in your Ohio county, go to State Agency Locator.
Convincing
Studies show that tweens need more than just a safety message or slogan to change their behavior. Peer influence is very important, but the tweens’ perception of their peers’ behavior is more important than their actual behavior—if tweens think most other kids their age use safety restraints and sit in the back seat, then they are more likely to do those things, too.
Gender, ethnicity, family structure and social class also influence tweens’ behavior. For example, girls are more likely to pay attention to safety and boys are more concerned with comfort, game playing and parental approval.
Adult role modeling is important, especially with parents, coaches, favorite celebrities and other adults that children admire or look to for guidance.
Special Considerations
It is usually safest for wheelchair users to transfer to a vehicle seat and buckle up properly when riding in a vehicle. Sometimes, transferring becomes impractical and a child must travel in a wheelchair. In that case, a transit wheelchair should be used. Transit wheelchairs meet ANSI/RESNA WC19 standards, which is a voluntary standard developed by safety and rehabilitation experts. These wheelchairs have four crash tested points where tie-down straps and hooks can be easily attached. It is important to anchor the wheelchair facing forward and to use crash tested seatbelts for the wheelchair passenger. Also, remove all trays and halo supports while traveling. For more information about wheelchair safety, go to www.travelsafer.org.
Medical equipment must be secured in the vehicle. Any loose objects can become projectiles with a sudden stop or crash. If possible, seatbelts should be used for this purpose. Equipment placed on the floor can be wedged between the seats and covered with pillows.
Deadly projectiles can be anything in the vehicle that is not fastened down including other passengers, toys, books, electronics, food and beverages. Make it a habit to have a secure place for anything you take in the car.
Service animals must be secured for their own protection and those riding with them. Some harnesses are made for dogs to travel in the car and there are also travel crates for some animals. Some of these products are safer than others, so be sure to check with your trainer or veterinarian to see what they recommend for your animals.
School Bus and Van Safety
Refer to the section on this web site, Bus and Van Safety for Children with Special Needs
Parents and Drivers
Parents and drivers should make sure that the children they are responsible for are properly buckled into the safest available place in the vehicle. It’s their job to know the law, set the rules for riding and stick to them.
Ohio’s new seatbelt law requires that all passengers fifteen and under buckle up in all seating positions in most vehicles.
Surveys show that tweens like to have comfort and control in the car. Some things that may help include allowing tweens to "choose their favorite radio station", decorate their space in the backseat, and play handheld games in the backseat of the car.
Finally, the best thing parents can do to ensure that their children will always buckle up is to always buckle up themselves. If parents buckle up, kids will buckle up 94% of the time.
Sources: Fatality Analysis Reporting System
Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety
tweensafety.org
Click here to download more information: Tween Travel Safety, Backseat Survivors (PDF format)
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