1000 SW Jackson
Suite 230
Topeka, KS 66612-1274
(785) 296-1223
(785) 296-8645 (FAX)

Coordinator:
Jan Stegelman

Executive Committee:
Randall Bolin
NHTSA Region VII

Dennis Cooley, MD
Medical Advisor
American Academy of
Pediatrics, Kansas
Chapter

John Drees
Douglas County
SAFE KIDS Coalition

Vanda Easley
State Farm Insurance
Companies

Jim Keating
Kansas State
Firefighters Association

Elena Nuss
Kansas State
Fire Marshal's Office

Cindy Samuelson
Kansas Hospital Association

New Year's Resolution:
Choose and Use the Right Child Safety Seat
Promise Kids a Safer 2005, Urges Kansas SAFE KIDS

Kansas SAFE KIDS urges parents and caregivers to make a New Year's resolution that could save their child's life: select, and learn to use, the correct child safety seat every time your child travels in a vehicle. Properly used child safety seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71-percent for rear-facing infants and 54-percent for forward-facing toddlers.

Unfortunately, motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of unintentional injury-related death for Kansas children ages 0-14. In the last five years (1999-2003), 100 Kansas kids under 15 died in crashes and more than 10,000 were injured.

"The best way to keep your child from becoming one of those grim statistics is to use an appropriate child safety seat or booster seat for every trip, and to make sure you know how to install and adjust it," says Jan Stegelman, Kansas SAFE KIDS coordinator.

The vast majority of child safety seats - about 82-percent - are used incorrectly. In a crash, children restrained incorrectly are 3.5 times more likely to be seriously injured than children in appropriate restraints. More than 80-percent of the Kansas children killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2001 were not restrained at all.

"Set a good example," Stegelman says. Ninety-two percent of the time, if parents are buckled up, the kids are buckled too."

Babies must ride in a rear-facing infant seat or convertible (infant/toddler) seat until they are at least one-year-old and at least 20 pounds. Preferably, babies should ride in a rear-facing seat as long as possible, until they reach the weight or height limit as specified by the manufacturer. Toddlers should ride in a forward-facing child safety seat until they exceed the manufacturer's weight limit for using the harness. Most are rated for use until 40 pounds, and some can be used to even greater weight. And, remember, bigger kids need a booster seat until they are about 8 years old and about 4' 9" tall.

Four out of five kids who should be riding in a booster seat are not.

"Adult safety belts don't work on kids," says Stegelman. "The passenger has to be tall enough to sit all the way back in the seat and have the shoulder belt cross the shoulder, not the neck. Their legs should naturally bend over the edge of the seat without slouching or scooting forward. For 83- percent of children ages 4 to 8, that will require a belt-positioning booster seat."

"Never let a child tuck the shoulder strap under an arm," Stegelman adds. "If the safety belts don't fit right, use a belt-positioning booster seat."

Once parents select the right child passenger restraint and learn to use it, the other vital New Year's resolution is to use it every time, even on short trips.

"Three out of four crashes occur within 25 miles of home - and 60- percent happen on low-speed roads, not major highways," Stegelman says.

Parents and caregivers who resolve to give their kids a safer new year should visit www.safekids.org to find a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician who can provide free expert advice about the correct use of child safety seats.

Kansas SAFE KIDS, Inc. is a nonprofit Coalition of 67 statewide organizations and businesses dedicated to preventing unintentional injuries to Kansas children ages 0-14. Local coalitions and chapters are located in Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Clay, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Ford, Franklin, Geary, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Marion, Meade, Montgomery, Nemaha, Osage, Pottawatomie, Republic, Rice, Saline, Smith, Shawnee, Wabaunsee, and Woodson Counties, as well as Chanute, Leavenworth, Manhattan, Norton, Pittsburg, Wichita and the Metro Kansas City Area. Kansas SAFE KIDS is part of the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, the first and only national nonprofit organization dedicated solely to the prevention of unintentional childhood injury -- the number one killer of children ages 14 and under. For more information about Kansas SAFE KIDS, Inc, go to www.kansassafekids.org.