Why are most 4- to 8-year-olds inadequately protected in automobile crashes?

One of the major fascinating statistics is that most 4 – to 8 – year olds are not safe when it comes to being protected in cars. They are usually inadequately protected in automobile crashes. These statistics were evaluated by the Partners for Child Passenger Safety (PCPS).

PCPS highly recommends using booster seats until children are grown enough to use an adult seat belt (4 feet 9 inches and 80 pounds) because of the fact that more than 90 percent of children between the ages of 4 to 8 who were seriously injured in auto collisions were not wearing booster seats. As a matter of fact, children who aren’t in booster seats are four times more likely to suffer serious head injuries than those children who are in booster seats.

Flaura Winston, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the principal investigator for PCPS’ ongoing “Child Passenger Safety Study”, claims, “Parents need to realize that seat belts are designed to protect an average-sized adult – not a child’s small body.”

Winston claims, “Of concern to me as a pediatrician is the direct correlation between inappropriate restraint and injuries sustained by children.”

Parents should put all children in special car-seating arrangements that fit the children’s age and weight recommends The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in conjunction with the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Seating arrangements should include car seats or belt-positioning booster seats, which are usually designed specifically for children who weight between 40 and 80 pounds. Many consumers don’t know what belt-positioning booster seats do and simply avoid getting them at all. They position the child so that regular adult lap belts or shoulder belts fit snugly and restrain the child properly in case a crash or any other auto collision would occur.

Her are some tips that the NHTSA and PCPS recommends. They also have statistics that support their recommendations:

• Children in forward-facing car seats should ride in those seats fully harnessed, until they exceed the manufacturer’s weight and height limits. This is highly recommended because of the act that 29 percent of 3-year-olds were removed from car seats to booster seats before they were ready.

• Until they reach age 1 and 20 pounds, babies should always sit in rear-facing seats in the vehicle’s back seat. 30 percent of infants sat in forward-facing car seats before they turned age 1 and the results weren’t good, according to recent evaluations made by the PCPS.

• Children age 12 and younger should always seat in the back seat. As a matter of fact, 16 percent of children age 12 and younger ride in the front seat.